Politico
Making case for energy efficiency
By Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Sen. Rob Portman
7-29-13 

For the past three years, we have worked together to develop the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act, legislation that will go a long way toward making the United States more energy efficient and more economically competitive. Our bill makes good environmental sense. It makes good energy sense. And it makes good economic sense, too. 

Our bill curbs inefficient energy practices that cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars and millions of jobs every year. According to a recent study by the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, we waste an astonishing 86 percent of the energy we consume. Upgrading the energy efficiency of U.S. buildings alone could save $1 trillion over the next decade. Cutting down on energy waste represents an untapped resource that we have long ignored. Our legislation helps to change that. 

Our bill promotes energy savings that Americans across the political spectrum can get behind. Energy efficiency has broad, bipartisan support from business, energy and environmental advocates alike, and the legislation we have developed helps to promote energy efficiency through a smart, pragmatic plan that can be implemented immediately. 

Our bill uses low-cost, voluntary tools to make it easier for businesses and consumers to lower their energy consumption. The legislation strengthens model building codes to make new homes and commercial buildings more energy efficient, while also making these codes and the code-writing process more transparent. And it requires the Department of Energy to work more closely with manufacturers to spur research and development of new, practical energy-efficient techniques... 

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