To Lower Costs for Consumers and Businesses, Shaheen Urges Administration to Immediately Approve Pending Energy Efficiency Standards
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, sent a letter urging the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young to immediately review and approve all ten energy efficiency standards for appliances that are currently pending before the agency. In her letter, Shaheen details how approving the remaining energy efficiency standards would save consumers and businesses an estimated $8.7 billion annually while substantially reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
In part, the Senator wrote: “Appliance and equipment energy standards are critical to saving constituents and businesses in my state money on their energy bills, while driving innovation in the marketplace and reducing greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate the effects of climate change. In light of these benefits, I urge you to prioritize reviewing and approving these efficiency standards.”
The full text of the letter can be found here.
Shaheen has long championed work to secure federal investments in clean energy and energy efficiency initiatives and to lower energy costs in New Hampshire and across the country. In the FY24 government funding bills, Shaheen helped defend key energy efficiency programs at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) from cuts, including securing $366 million for weatherization efforts and $66 million for the State Energy Program, which works to bring down energy bills for families and communities. Shaheen also secured continued support for the annual U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER) that tracks key jobs data in the energy sector.
Recently, Shaheen, as Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, hosted a field hearing and resource fair at the University of New Hampshire in Manchester on investments in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act that can help small businesses lower their energy costs, transition to the clean energy economy and build resilience. Following the field hearing, small businesses participated in a resource fair and met with federal agencies and state business support programs.
Shaheen was a lead negotiator of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which made huge investments in energy efficiency, including $550 million for Industrial Research and Assessment Centers and assistance for small- and medium-sized manufacturers to implement efficiency upgrades based upon her longstanding bipartisan legislation with former U.S. Senator Rob Portman. Granite Staters looking for energy efficiency resources can check out Senator Shaheen’s Federal Energy Resource Guide.
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