Energy efficiency bill sent to president

The United States House of Representatives recently approved a bipartisan bill for energy efficiency, sending it on to President Obama, who will sign the bill into law.

Reps. Peter Welch (D- VT) and David McKinley (R-WV) wrote the bipartisan bill, HR 1802/S 535, to improve the energy efficiency of water heaters, commercial buildings and federal buildings by certifying commercial rental property energy performance, encouraging more energy efficiency in federal buildings, and eliminating a regulatory barrier that concerns large-scale water heaters.

Several organizations have supported the bill, including the National Association of Homebuilders, the Real Estate Roundtable, the United States Chamber of Commerce, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and the Alliance to Save Energy.

“I have long believed that energy efficiency is an issue that lends itself to looking past partisan differences to find common ground in Congress,” Welch said. “We may disagree on the causes of climate change and the best fuel mix to meet America’s energy needs, but we can all agree that using less is more. We can all agree that creating demand for American-made energy efficient products will create good jobs. And we can all agree that cutting the energy bills of homeowners, businesses and the federal government is a good thing.”