Coalition Letter to Congress Supporting H.R. 1443 and S. 385, the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act

Dear Chairwoman Murkowski, Ranking Member Cantwell, Chairman Walden, and Ranking Member Pallone:

On behalf of a coalition of energy efficiency organizations, businesses, trade associations, and public interest groups, we, the undersigned, are writing to express our support for S. 385 and H.R. 1443.1 These identical bills are more colloquially known by the names of their sponsors: “Portman-Shaheen” and “McKinley-Welch”. We urge your support for these bills and encourage you to bring S. 385 and H.R. 1443 up for consideration and a vote before your respective committees at the earliest possible time.

Our organizations support S. 385 and H.R. 1443 just as we have previous versions of this legislation. These bipartisan bills include provisions that would improve U.S. energy productivity, expand energy efficiency savings and benefits across all sectors of the economy, and address opportunities in the federal government. Passage of this legislation would create jobs in local economies across the U.S. and lower annual energy costs—year after year—for American households. More specifically, Portman-Shaheen and McKinley-Welch would create a national strategy to increase the use of energy efficiency through a model building energy code; promote the development of energy efficient supply-chains for companies; encourage the federal government to adopt and implement energy saving policies and programs; improve federal data center efficiency; support the deployment of energy efficient technologies in schools; improve commercial building efficiency; and set forth a number of other policies and initiatives.

Energy efficiency is the quickest, cheapest, and cleanest way to reduce domestic energy consumption. It also represents an important engine of economic growth in the energy sector. The U.S. Department of Energy recently reported that more than 2.2 million Americans hold energy efficiency jobs, which is over one third of the total energy sector workforce. Moreover, energy efficiency policies offer Americans protection from rising energy costs caused by instability overseas, and move us towards greater energy security.

The American public is eager for Congress to show leadership by considering and passing legislation that enjoys broad bipartisan support and would spur economic growth and create jobs. Those qualities perfectly describe Portman-Shaheen and McKinley-Welch. We respectfully urge you to support these bipartisan bills and bring S. 385 and H.R. 1443 up for committee consideration at the soonest opportunity during this session of the 115th Congress.

Thank you for your consideration.

Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute

Alliance for Industrial Efficiency

Alliance to Save Energy

Ameresco

American Chemistry Council

American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy

ASHRAE

Building Performance Institute

Ceres

Copper Development Association

Covestro LLC

Cree

Danfoss

E4TheFuture

Efficiency First

Energy Efficient Codes Coalition

Environmental and Energy Study Institute

Home Performance Coalition

Illuminating Engineering Society

Institute for Market Transformation

International Association of Lighting Designers

Johnson Controls, Inc.

Legrand

National Association for State Community Services Programs

National Association of Energy Service Companies

National Association of Manufacturers

National Association of State Energy Officials

National Roofing Contractors Association

Natural Resources Defense Council

North American Insulation Manufacturers Association

Philips Lighting

Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association

Robert Bosch LLC

Seattle City Light

Schneider Electric

Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association

Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

United Technologies

Vermont Energy Investment Corporation