Political Quotes

“Mr. President, it is a real pleasure to be joined here today on the Senate floor by Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. Senator Shaheen has been a tireless advocate for clean energy and is the Senate's bipartisan champion on energy efficiency, alongside Senator Portman. The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a major warning last week. Ninety-one authors and editors from 40 countries reviewed more than 6,000 scientific papers to assess what it would take to hold global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. The report says that we will need to invest roughly five times what we do now in low- carbon energy and energy efficiency by 2050. The Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency legislation would help move us toward that target. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy says that the bill would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 650 million metric tons over a 15-year period. The cumulative net savings from the bill would reach nearly $100 billion. My State of Rhode Island is a national leader in promoting energy efficiency, so we know how good programs like the Shaheen-Portman reforms are for consumers, for businesses, and for the environment. Rhode Island has consistently ranked among the top States for energy efficiency. This year, we are in the top three on the State Energy Efficiency Scorecard.…”