Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation to help create jobs and lower energy bills for businesses and multi-family residences. This bill would create a program called Building Star, designed to promote energy-saving commercial building renovations through rebates and low-cost financing options. I believe, as do many of my colleagues, that energy efficiency should be a central component of our national energy policy because energy efficiency creates jobs, reduces our dependence on foreign oil, and reduces the pollution of our air and water. Central to the program we are proposing today is its ability to help businesses afford the up- front costs of energy-efficient renovations by helping state and local programs offer low-interest loans that can be paid back through savings on energy bills. As we take action to put Americans back to work, we need to set our sights on programs that provide the biggest bang for our buck in terms of immediate job creation and set our economy up for future growth. Clean energy is not only the next great growth industry, but it's an engine for job creation today. Energy-efficiency programs like Building Star will put Americans to work in construction and manufacturing and save small businesses money as we strive for American energy independence.…
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