Lisa Murkowski: “Thank you, Mr. President. We are on the measure again, the Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency bill, also known as the…”

“Thank you, Mr. President. We are on the measure again, the Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency bill, also known as the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act--an efficiency bill. This should not be this difficult for us. When we talk about the benefits of an all-of-the-above energy policy--the benefits that can come to us as a nation when we are more resilient with our energy sources, when we are able to access our domestic energy sources, whether they be our fossil fuels, our renewables, or nuclear-- we all talk about it in good, strong terms because, quite honestly, energy makes us a stronger nation, having access to our energy resources. I have defined a good, strong energy policy as one that allows energy to be more abundant, affordable, clean, diverse, and secure. An energy policy is also about the energy we do not consume. It is about the energy we save because we are more efficient. It seems we have gotten to a point, at least with some aspects of this discussion, where somehow or other the efficiency side of the energy discussion is a partisan debate; that Republicans do not support energy efficiency. I cannot think of a more conservative principle than conserving energy. This is something we should be embracing, and it is something, in terms of legislation that is sound, that is good to move forward, something that I support. This bipartisan efficiency bill has been refined. It has been strengthened. It has been improved over the past 3 years.…”