On the recordMarch 5, 2020
Mr. President, Senator Portman and I have been working on this legislation for about 10 years now. It has gone through committee multiple times. It has gone through the floor of the Senate multiple times, and we hope that we have it in a position now where we can actually get this done as part of the overall energy package, which is significant and a tribute to the work of Senators Murkowski and Manchin and so many people in this Chamber. As Senator Portman said, energy use in buildings is about 40 percent of our energy use. It is the biggest single sector in our economy. Energy efficiency is the cheapest, fastest way to deal with our energy needs. So what these provisions would do--they are voluntary. What they would do is provide significant savings to consumers. They would be the equivalent of taking every car and light truck off the road for a year, so significant emission savings and significant energy savings. This is a win-win. I hope that the amendment can be called up and passed.
