[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 13470-13471]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           ENERGY EFFICIENCY

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, America has and had for so many years the 
most brilliant, innovative, and imaginative scientists in the world. 
Many of them have worked hard to develop new environmentally friendly 
energy sources. That is one area in which we have been so good.
  Every year over the last many years during the month of August I host 
an energy summit in Las Vegas. We have had Governors and Presidents and 
all kinds of Cabinet officers there. It is a bipartisan event. One of 
the activities we do there is recognize some of the smartest and most 
creative inventors and investors in the world to show their latest 
discoveries, and there are lots of them. This past August I learned 
about an American company that is developing high-tech batteries. It 
has great potential. They want to store solar power for use long after 
the Sun goes down. I met the inventor of a flying wind turbine that 
looks like a cross between a giant kite and a small plane.
  On the Nevada and California border just a few miles from Las Vegas 
there is an amazing project going on out there. They have hundreds and 
hundreds of thousands of solar panels--mirrors. They have three very 
tall towers that look like skyscrapers, and they harness the Sun. The 
reason this invention is so terrific is that one of the problems we 
found with solar energy is that when the Sun goes down, it is not 
producing energy anymore. This will no longer be the case because these 
large skyscrapers have molten salt stored in them. During the day it 
heats up, and when the Sun goes down it still produces energy. It is 
amazing. That is now 98 percent completed.
  I am constantly amazed by the ingenuity of the clean energy that 
brings a bright spot during the darkest of economic times. But 
Americans cannot just rely on scientists and inventors to solve our 
energy dilemma and break our reliance on polluting fossil fuels. We 
need to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem, and 
that will mean reducing our energy consumption at home and at work. 
That is what the Shaheen-Portman legislation is all about.
  Being more efficient at home--we can start with small choices, such 
as replacing a burned out lightbulb with an energy-efficient one, 
buying more efficient appliances, which are out there, so we can do 
that. We can install thermostats that turn the heat or the air down 
when no one is home. It can be regulated remotely. The effect of these 
choices and many more is real.
  We also need to make the buildings we live in and work in, as well as 
the technology inside those buildings, more efficient. What has 
happened for generations here in America is that you design a building 
and give the specifications, but then people come in and build it as 
cheaply as they can. At the time it is constructed, the construction 
company wants to get it done as quickly and cheaply as possible. As a 
result, the insulation is not good and the air-conditioning equipment 
and appliances are not as good as they could be. So we need to make the 
buildings we work in, as well as the technology inside those buildings, 
more efficient.
  Much of the electricity created in America is wasted. When I was a 
boy growing up in rural Nevada, less than a mile from our home were 
these massive power lines coming from the Hoover Dam, extending to 
California--lots of them. We used to be amazed. We would stand under 
them and hear the electricity popping and snapping. It went from 
Boulder City to L.A. Think of all of the electricity lost while 
transmitting that electricity down there. So much of the electricity we 
use in America today is wasted. Just heating and cooling our homes and 
offices with outdated technology is one way we waste so much 
electricity. The legislation before the Senate will spur the use of 
energy-efficient technologies. Here is what Senators Shaheen and 
Portman named the legislation: the Energy Savings and Industrial 
Competitiveness Act. It will spur the use of energy-efficient 
technologies in private homes, commercial buildings, as well as in the 
industrial sector--all at no cost to taxpayers. I commend Senators 
Shaheen and Portman for their persistence and dedication in bringing 
this bill to the floor. I thank Senator Wyden, chairman of the full 
committee, and Ranking Member Murkowski for their able management of 
this measure.
  Investing in energy efficiency is one of the fastest and most 
effective ways to grow our economy. This legislation will make our 
country more energy

[[Page 13471]]

independent, protect our environment, and will also save consumers and 
taxpayers money by lowering their energy bills.
  It is estimated that this measure would save American families today 
$14 billion per year and will create more than 150,000 new jobs, 
according to some of the studies surrounding this legislation. This 
bipartisan bill makes it easier for the private sector to adopt 
efficient technology.
  By 2030--even as a young man presiding, the Senator understands how 
quickly 2030 will get here--this legislation will reduce Americans' 
CO2 emission as much as taking nearly 17 million cars off 
the road. The bill creates incentives for companies to use technology 
that is already available right off the shelf. It is technology that 
can be used in every State in the Nation, and it will pay for itself 
right away through savings and energy.
  The Federal Government also has an important role to play in saving 
energy, and we have not done very well in the past. The Federal 
Government is the Nation's single largest energy consumer of 
electricity. No one is a bigger customer for electricity in America 
today than the Federal Government. Reducing the government's energy use 
will not only be good for the environment, it will save taxpayers lots 
of money.
  I am aware that Senators wish to offer amendments. I have been told 
by Senator Shaheen that there are 18 bipartisan amendments to be 
offered. I look forward to working with them and the bill's managers to 
help American businesses and consumers play an active role in reducing 
our Nation's energy consumption. While some of the answers to America's 
energy dilemma will come from inventors and researchers, others must 
begin in the places we live and work.
  There has been a lot of happy talk about what a great piece of 
legislation this is--and it is. I have worked with Senator Shaheen and 
Senator Portman. They said there will be amendments and that all the 
amendments are bipartisan. Of course, we have been totally diverted 
from what this bill is all about. Why? Because the anarchists have 
taken over. They have taken over the House, and now they have done the 
same in the Senate.
  The Speaker could not pass a simple CR today. When asked at a press 
event yesterday--as I heard reported on the news today--they said: What 
is next?
  He said: If you have a couple of ideas, give them to me, and they 
will be shot down also.
  We are in a position here where people who don't believe in 
government--and that is what the tea party is all about--are winning. 
That is a shame. There has not been a single amendment allowed to be 
offered in this legislation that has anything to do with energy. There 
are all kinds of different issues, such as defunding ObamaCare.
  As the fiscal year comes to an end, I guess that is what it is all 
about: You do what we want and get rid of ObamaCare or we won't fund 
the government. The President of the United States has said he is not 
going to negotiate dealing with the debt ceiling.
  If the Republicans in the House can't pass a simple funding 
resolution for a short time, then it will shut down because of that. 
The government can't fund unless we have activity here.
  Even though I gave all the reasons why we need to do this Energy 
bill--and Senators Shaheen and Portman have been talking to me for 
months and months: Let's do this bill. They said there won't be 
amendments on it unless they relate to energy. So here we are. Where 
are we? Where we have been this whole year. What have we accomplished? 
Not much.

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