Michael Bennet: “through the Chair, I would say to the Senator from Louisiana that my understanding was he would object. He was on the…”

“through the Chair, I would say to the Senator from Louisiana that my understanding was he would object. He was on the floor when I offered it and I thought he was going to object. So knowing of his objection, I withdraw the amendment. Having said all of that, I think it is a shame that we can't get going with this bipartisan bill. I wish to thank the chairman and the ranking member for their incredibly great bipartisan work on this energy bill. I wish to thank Senator Jeanne Shaheen from New Hampshire and Senator Portman from Ohio for the bipartisan work that has been going on for months, if not years, on this bill. I am pleased to come to the floor--I wish to introduce my amendment but not today because of the objection, but to at least talk about a bipartisan amendment we would like to get on this bill. I wish to thank my colleague Senator Ayotte for joining me in this important effort. Our amendment is based on stand-alone legislation we have written called the Better Buildings Act, which encourages energy efficiency in commercial buildings. Over the last several years we worked with building owners across Colorado and the country to craft the legislation. The economic and environmental benefits of improving energy efficiency in buildings are clear. A well-publicized retrofit of the Empire State Building in New York reduced energy usage by 38 percent--almost 40 percent--and it saved an estimated $4.4 million annually for the building owner.…”