Cybersecurity Act of 2012

Floor Speech

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Mrs. SHAHEEN. Thank you, Madam President.

I come to the floor this evening to talk about an amendment I have filed to the Cybersecurity Act, S. 3414. This is the fourth time I have filed this amendment, and it is not on the Cybersecurity Act per se, although it does address energy use, which is one of the critical challenges we face as we are trying to address cybersecurity in this country.

This is an amendment that is the substance of S. 1000, the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act, of which the other sponsor is Senator Rob Portman, and he is a cosponsor on this amendment.

What the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act and the amendment I filed does is create a national energy efficiency strategy for the United States. So this amendment is the same language Senator Portman and I filed to the Bring Jobs Home Act and the Middle Class Tax Cut Act, and it is one we are going to continue to file because we think it is important for this amendment and this legislation to have an opportunity for a vote from this entire Senate because we think this is bipartisan legislation that has broad support among our colleagues.

This legislation is based on two important premises I have already spoken to in the Chamber: first, that the American public desperately wants Congress to work together in a bipartisan way to address this Nation's energy needs; and, second, that energy efficiency is the fastest, cheapest way to meet our energy challenges. Not only does it help us develop a strategy around energy, but it is a strategy that can be supported whether you live in New England, as I do, whether you live in the West, whether you live in the South. It is a strategy that is important whether you support fossil fuels--oil and gas--whether you support nuclear, or whether you support wind and solar. We all benefit from energy efficiency. It is also a strategy that creates thousands of good jobs.

There is evidence that the American public wants to see the Senate act on energy efficiency legislation. I think that evidence is overwhelming because last week I started an online campaign asking people to sign a petition calling on Senate leadership to bring this bill to the floor. The text of the petition is what we see here--small print so it is hard to read, but it asks people to support the Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency bill.

I just wish to read a section of it. It says:

The Shaheen-Portman Act would help make the United States a global leader in the fastest and cheapest method we have for addressing our energy needs, energy efficiency. Energy efficiency is within our grasp. It uses proven technology that we can manufacture here at home to lower energy costs across all sectors of our economy.

In just a matter of days, we have already collected over 4,600 signatures from supporters across the country, and that number continues to grow. Anyone interested in signing the petition and in learning more about the many benefits of energy efficiency can easily do so by visiting my Web site at shaheen.senate.gov.

While drafting the bill, Senator Portman and I met with a number of stakeholders so we could better understand the obstacles the private sector faces when they are trying to deploy energy-efficient technology. So we had discussions with people from energy-intensive companies, from trade groups, from those representing the real estate community, from environmental advocates and from financing organizations.

The feedback we received about ways to remove these barriers and drive the adoption of energy-efficient technologies became the basis for this legislation. As a result, we have a bill that provides a variety of low-cost tools that will speed this Nation's transition to a more energy-efficient economy.

The bill addresses three major areas of U.S. energy use: residential and commercial buildings, which consume 40 percent of all energy used in the country; the industrial sector, which consumes more energy than any other sector of the U.S. economy; and the Federal Government, which is the country's single biggest user of energy.

Highlights of the bill include: establishing advanced building codes for voluntary residential and commercial buildings to cut energy use. I would emphasize that those codes are voluntary. We worked with the real estate and the building industries on those codes.

Second, the legislation helps manufacturers finance and implement energy-efficient production technologies and practices because that is one of the biggest obstacles to retrofitting buildings for energy efficiency.

Third, the legislation would require the Federal Government to adopt better building standards and smart metering technology.

Our legislation is bipartisan. In addition to the thousands of signatures on this petition, it has support from well over 200 businesses, environmental groups, think tanks, and trade association. Those groups include: The National Association of Manufacturers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Environmental Defense Fund, businesses such as Johnson Controls, Honeywell, United Technologies Corporation.

This broad coalition of supporters recognizes that the legislation is an easy first step that will make our economy more competitive and our Nation more secure by reducing our dependence on foreign oil and still meeting the demand for energy saving technologies for individuals and businesses alike.

I think it is important to point out that there are real economic benefits. A recent study by policy experts at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy found that the legislation will achieve savings for consumers and businesses. Specifically, their study found that by 2020, the bill could save consumers $4 billion a year once it is enacted. It would add 80,000 jobs to the economy.

In a time when we are worried about growing the economy, when we are worried about the fragile recovery, this is the kind of legislation that will allow us to create good jobs with off-the-shelf technologies. With the Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency bill, the Senate has an opportunity to provide the American people with exactly what they want, an effective bipartisan approach to addressing this Nation's energy needs that also creates jobs and grows the economy. I hope we will be able to persuade leadership and my colleagues that this is legislation that merits full debate and a vote on the floor and that we will be able to bring S. 1000 or this amendment to the floor for a vote.

I yield the floor.

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