Paul Tonko: “Sure. Before my involvement here in the House of Representatives, I served as president and CEO of NYSERDA, the New York…”

“Sure. Before my involvement here in the House of Representatives, I served as president and CEO of NYSERDA, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. And it was there that I got to see policy put into action. I had worked in the State assembly. I had represented the 105th Assembly District in the State of New York for nearly 25 years, the last 15 of which I served as Energy chair. So I got to see that energy policy put into action at NYSERDA where there were very meaningful partnerships with the private sector, where they would retrofit machine operations, manufacturing assembly lines with energy-efficiency outcomes. Number one, we're the most gluttonous user of energy, as a commodity. It is so important for us to become more resourceful. That should be a social economic goal that is embraced by the Nation. But beyond that, it saves money when we enable these companies to embrace these new technologies in a way that creates a more competitive outcome for them, especially as we move more and more to a global marketplace that is the competing ground. Also, in so doing, there were opportunities to invest in research. Now, not every story in research is a success story; but the wonderful outcomes, when they are a success story, produce the sort of savings of the environment, savings of our energy supply, and savings of the green, the dollars. Those are quantifiable benefits that ought to be encouraged by policy. And here, what I see is us walking away.…”