Portman highlights bipartisan benefits of energy efficiency bill

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) recently highlighted the bipartisan goals served by his Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness (ESIC) Act, part of the 2016 Energy Policy Modernization Act, as his fellow legislators prepare to vote on the measure.

“This is an opportunity for us to pass energy efficiency legislation that helps create more jobs, makes the environment cleaner, makes our businesses more competitive, makes us less dependent on foreign sources of oil, and helps with the trade deficit,” Portman said. “So this is a win-win for everybody.”

The ESIC Act would boost energy efficiency throughout the county through the use of low-cost tools. It would also require the federal government, which is currently the largest energy user in the country, to use energy-efficient technology and reduce its consumption. The bill is projected to create nearly 200,000 jobs and reduce emissions by the equivalent of taking 22 million cars off the road by 2030, according to an American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy study.

“The economic growth in this last quarter was 0.7 percent, meaning less than 1 percent growth. That's kind of discouraging. You have to look around and say, what could we do to help get this economy moving again? And one area is energy," Portman said. "There's no question about it. And we believe our legislation will help.”