[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 216 (Wednesday, December 15, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9197-S9199]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



           Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act

  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I am really pleased to be on the floor 
this afternoon with my friend and colleague Senator Rob Portman to talk 
about an issue that we have been working on, literally, for a decade, 
and it has been a bipartisan effort to focus on energy efficiency as a 
response to the energy needs in this country.
  In 2011, Senator Portman and I introduced S. 1000, which was the 
first version of the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act. 
Over the years, it has been known as Shaheen-Portman, when we were in 
the majority on the Democratic side, or Portman-Shaheen, when the 
Republicans were in the majority.
  But it doesn't matter what you call it. Our bill has proposed 
substantial investments in energy efficiency in this country, and what 
we did in the bill was to focus on the most energy-intensive sectors in 
our economy: buildings, residential and commercial, which is about a 
third of our energy use; the industrial sector; and the Federal 
Government. And, in the United States, the biggest user of energy is 
the Federal Government.
  In a Congress that is divided along partisan lines on so many issues, 
energy efficiency is one priority that can bring us together on a 
bipartisan, bicameral basis to get things done. I always like to say 
that energy efficiency is one of those energy sources that you can 
support whether you are from New England or Ohio or Wyoming. Whether 
you support oil and gas or wind and solar, energy efficiency is the 
fastest, cheapest way to meet our energy needs.
  Our legislation has always focused on low-cost tools and adoption of 
off-the-shelf technologies to save money for consumers and businesses, 
to make America more energy independent, and to reduce emissions.
  And over the years, over the last decade, we have had some big wins. 
In 2015, President Obama signed a targeted version of Shaheen-Portman, 
the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act, into law. That bill helped align 
the interests of commercial building owners and their tenants to reduce 
energy consumption, and it allowed certain water heaters to help with 
demand response programs in rural areas.
  Now, we have also made great strides through annual appropriations 
and administrative actions on things like energy efficiency standards 
for appliances.
  Of course, we have also had some real defeats. But, though 
frustrating, as those defeats were, our resolve on this bill has never 
wavered, and when we reintroduced Portman-Shaheen last Congress, we 
worked to again incorporate feedback from stakeholders. For 7 months, 
our staffs held back-to-back meetings with constituents, stakeholders, 
and committee staff to ensure the bill addressed the energy needs in 
New Hampshire, Ohio, and the rest of the country.
  Improving the efficiency of residential and commercial buildings 
through energy-saving building codes remained central to our bill, as 
did industrial energy efficiency provisions and improvements to Federal 
energy efficiency programs.
  We also, again, included energy efficiency bills from our colleagues. 
So in that piece of legislation, we included Senators Murkowski and 
Manchin's Federal Energy and Water Management Performance Act. We 
included Senators Hoeven and Manchin's All-of-the-Above Federal 
Building Energy Conservation Act. And we included Senator Collins and 
Warner's legislation coordinating the energy retrofitting for schools. 
Finally, as part of that, we included Senator Bennet and Senator 
Isakson's Sensible Accounting to Value Energy Act, or the SAVE Act.
  So there were a lot of reasons why a number of Members of this body 
were interested in that legislation. But it was also a real savings 
because, according to the American Council for an Energy Efficient 
Economy, the policies from that bill would save consumers over $51 
billion on their energy bills. It would reduce carbon emissions by 1.3 
billion metric tons, which is the equivalent of taking 280 million cars 
off the road for a year. And it would save 32 quadrillion Btus of 
energy, which is nearly the total energy use of all U.S. industries for 
1 year.
  Now, a previous study from ACEEE also estimated that the legislation 
would add more than 100,000 jobs to the economy. That bill passed the 
Energy and Natural Resources Committee by a vote of 14 to 6, and it was 
the fifth

[[Page S9198]]

time--fifth time--the bill passed in committee on a bipartisan basis.
  Now, I am proud to say that the Energy Policy Act of 2020 that was 
signed into law by President Trump at the end of last year had several 
provisions from that Shaheen-Portman legislation that would streamline 
efficiency for schools, increase energy efficiency for Federal data 
centers, provide rebates for energy-efficient electric motors and 
transformers, and support Federal energy efficiency programs. But, of 
course, a piece of that bill was left on the cutting room floor, with 
the voluntary building codes, where so much of the savings was really 
incorporated.
  But despite the success and the defeat in the last Congress, we came 
into this year as determined as ever. And as part of the original Gang 
of 10, Senator Portman and I teamed up to ensure that energy efficiency 
was a big part of the bipartisan infrastructure framework.
  We worked with Senator Manchin and our bipartisan colleagues to 
incorporate much of Shaheen-Portman with funding in the Infrastructure 
Investment and Jobs Act.
  I am going to turn it over to Senator Portman for a few minutes so my 
voice can recover, and then I will pick it up when he finishes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, first of all, it is great to be on the 
floor with my friend Jeanne Shaheen and talk about something positive, 
something that we have been able to accomplish over the years--as she 
said, we have been at this over a decade--which is to encourage more 
energy efficiency. This is the ability for us to save energy by not 
using it. It is, therefore, sort of energy found. It is also an ability 
to improve the economy because it creates more jobs and makes us more 
competitive globally by having lower energy costs.
  Think about the businesses in your State. The competitive nature of 
business today is that you are really competing with the Europeans and 
the Japanese and the Chinese and so on, and if you have higher energy 
costs and you are not energy efficient, you are not going to be 
competitive.
  But if you are competitive, it adds jobs and makes the economy 
stronger. So the way I look at it, if you are interested in lower 
emissions and a better environment and, at the same time, you are 
interested in a better economy and creating jobs, then energy 
efficiency is the low-hanging fruit. That is the thing we can all agree 
with.
  I applaud Senator Shaheen because she has been patient. We have both 
been patient, as our staffs have been, over the years, in getting 
pieces of our legislation in various bills that have passed this U.S. 
Senate and the House of Representatives and been signed into law by 
President Obama, President Trump, and now President Biden.
  The most recent one was the infrastructure bill, and it is exciting 
what we were able to get in there in terms of encouraging a better, 
more sustainable use of our energy resources in both the public sector 
and in the private sector.
  Importantly, energy efficiency is also a part of a more reliable and 
resilient grid, which was part of our legislation: improving the 
electrical grid.
  We have had some pretty severe weather events over the last year, as 
you know. I was just in Kentucky over the weekend, my neighboring 
State, helping out on the cleanup there. And, boy, electricity was out 
everywhere.
  By improving energy efficiency, we can reduce demand, taking pressure 
off our power grids, and help create more stability.
  These are some of the reasons why, since 2011, we have worked 
together to promote this energy efficiency bill called the Energy 
Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act. Senator Shaheen called it 
Portman-Shaheen. I call it Shaheen-Portman because she is in charge 
now. The Senate is in the Democrats' majority, not ours. But we have 
worked together seamlessly. It has really been nonpartisan.
  And, again, our goal has been, really, three different areas. One is 
residential and commercial buildings, because that is where we use a 
lot of energy. About 40 percent of the energy used in this country is 
used there.
  Also, to ensure that the Federal Government does a better job. The 
Federal Government uses more energy than any other entity in the entire 
economy. By the way, it uses more energy than anybody in the world. And 
they don't do it very efficiently. In fact, there is a lot of energy 
inefficiency in our Federal Government.
  So practice what you preach, right? So you have the government 
telling everybody else they have got to be green, but the government 
itself is not green. So our legislation requires that the Federal 
Government take steps to make it more energy efficient as well.
  And then, finally, the manufacturing sector. Here is where there is a 
great opportunity, and manufacturers are really excited about it 
because we can provide some incentives, some best practices, and so on 
to make them more competitive globally by improving their energy 
efficiency.
  We have created a big tent through this process, joining forces with 
our colleagues over the years for the purpose of supporting these kind 
of commonsense energy efficiency measures. A number of Senators who 
have had important parts of our legislation include Senator Wicker, 
Senator Bennet, Senator Collins, Senator Manchin, Senator Hoeven, and 
others--Senator Murkowski.
  Our legislation has been voted on by this body before. In 2016, it 
passed the U.S. Senate. It also passed out of the Energy and Natural 
Resources Committee five separate times with bipartisan support.
  By the way, in 2016, the vote was 85 to 12. Now, it was part of a 
larger energy package, but that was a pretty strong sign of bipartisan 
support for this. And it improved energy efficiency, in that case, in 
leased office space and improved energy savings from water heaters, as 
an example.
  However, we have long recognized we need to do more to be able to 
save energy and save money. According to the U.S. Energy Information 
Administration, residential and commercial buildings accounted for 40 
percent of total energy consumption. In addition, reports from the U.S. 
Department of Energy have found that the Federal Government, again, is 
the single largest energy consumer in the country. And those studies 
have shown that our legislation as a whole would save consumers $51 
billion on energy bills, reduce carbon emissions by 1.3 billion tons--
not by hurting jobs--by creating more jobs because it would add more 
than 100,000 jobs to the economy.
  Over the years, our legislation has gained the support of industry, 
such as the National Association of Manufacturers, American Chemistry 
Council, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce. It has the support of commercial 
and real estate developers like BOMA and the Real Estate Roundtable, as 
well as from efficiency advocates and the environmental community like 
the Alliance to Save Energy, called ACEEE.
  There is not a lot in Washington these days that has such a broad 
group of stakeholders supporting it. But there is a reason this 
legislation has received such broad support. It reduces emissions by 
reducing energy consumption. It also creates new jobs and lowers energy 
bills for consumers. And it does all this without putting any new 
mandates on the private sector. Particularly now, at a time of record 
inflation and rising energy costs, investing and improving energy 
efficiency is a smart way to help support hard-working families in Ohio 
and around the country.
  The good news is that now, with the bipartisan infrastructure bill 
signed into law, we are much closer to seeing the benefits for the 
American people become a reality. The infrastructure bill, which we 
coauthored along with a bunch of our colleagues, included a total of 
$2.5 billion for various energy efficiency projects. Included in these 
critical investments are a number of our provisions from Shaheen-
Portman.
  For example, we were able to include and fund programs to help 
incentivize contractors, homebuilders, and others to adapt and 
implement updated building codes. We were also able to fund programs 
that will help career skills development to help us train a workforce 
able to develop and install important new energy efficiency 
technologies. That has been one of our challenges.
  For example, we include funding to enhance the Industrial Assessment 
Centers Program at the Department of Energy. This program allows 
students from around the country to conduct

[[Page S9199]]

energy assessments and small- and medium-sized manufacturers to improve 
their competitiveness, reduce waste, save energy, while at the same 
time training students in the field.
  By the way, it is these kinds of small changes and upgrades that can 
result in big emissions and cost savings for businesses all around the 
country. So I am truly proud of what we have accomplished, including 
the infrastructure bill most recently.
  Again, I want to thank my colleague Senator Shaheen for her tireless 
work to get this legislation across the finish line--again, energy 
efficiency, the low-hanging fruit. I look forward to continuing our 
partnership on these important issues.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I thank my colleague and partner in this 
effort, Senator Portman. And as he pointed out, on November 15, 
President Biden became the third President to sign energy efficiency 
provisions from our bill into law.
  Now, we still have a lot of work to do. But I just want to recognize 
current and former Shaheen-Portman staff who have helped us shepherd 
this bill through its many obstacles.
  From my staff, I want to thank Trent Bauserman, Robert Diznoff, Ariel 
Marshall, Drew Story, and Janelle DiLuccia.
  From Senator Portman's staff, I want to thank Pam Thiessen, Steve 
Kittredge, Pat Orth, Sarah Peery, and Lydia Denis.
  I would like to ask unanimous consent to enter the names of these 
current and former staff into the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

       Energy and Natural Resources Committee staff who have 
     played a pivotal role in the advancement of the Energy 
     Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act over the years:
       Brie Van Cleve, Adam Berry, Al Stayman, Sam Fowler, Renae 
     Black, Sarah Venuto, Angela Becker Dippman, Mary Louise 
     Wagoner, Joshua Sheinkman, Colin Hayes, and Brian Hughes.

  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Finally, I want to thank the chairs and ranking members 
of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee who have played such a 
pivotal role over the years: Senators Manchin, Murkowski, Cantwell and 
Wyden and their staffs.
  Senator Portman talked about all of the various groups who have been 
involved in helping to move this legislation where we are today. So I 
won't go back over those. But I will say, again, energy efficiency is a 
win, win, win. It create jobs; it reduces cost to consumers; and it 
lowers emissions.
  And as our economy recovers and grows, the investments in energy 
efficiency from our bipartisan infrastructure package are going to make 
sure that we use energy smarter. And I am going continue to partner 
with Senator Portman and others so we can unlock the full potential of 
energy efficiency for our growing economy.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as if in 
morning business for such time as I shall consume.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.