{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221011910/http://www.coons.senate.gov/newsroom/releases/release/senator-coons-applauds-extension-of-energy-efficiency-initiative", "Senator Coons applauds extension of energy efficiency initiative", "2013-12-04", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "DE", "Christopher Coons", "C001088", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, December 4, 2013\n                    CONTACT: Ian Koski at 202-224-5042\u00a0 \n\t\t\t\t\t Senator Coons applauds extension of energy efficiency initiative \n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tWASHINGTON\u00a0\u2013 Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), Senator John Boozman (R-Ark.),\u00a0Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) applauded the decision by the Obama Administration Tuesday to extend President Obama\u2019s federal buildings energy efficiency initiative.\nThe Administration announced yesterday\u00a0that federal agencies will \u201cwork with the Energy Department\u2019s Federal Energy Management Program in early 2014 to identify a pipeline of additional project commitments to further reduce energy use through 2016.\u201d\nGardner, Welch, Coons, and Boozman \u2013 \u00a0joined by 118 House colleagues and 26 Senate colleagues \u2013\u00a0sent a letter last month\u00a0to President Obama requesting an extended residential initiative setting a goal of $1 billion a year for the next five years for the federal government to utilize performance contracts to achieve energy savings.\n\"Investments in energy efficiency upgrades\u00a0promote energy independence, help our environment, and support American jobs,\"\u00a0Senator Coons\u00a0said. \"Outdated federal facilities spend billions in\u00a0taxpayer\u00a0dollars every year on energy use alone. In just two years, the\u00a0federal buildings energy efficiency initiative\u00a0has already yielded\u00a0significant\u00a0energy and cost savings for the federal government, and\u00a0I\u00a0am pleased the\u00a0administration has chosen to extend this valuable program.\"\u00a0\n\u201cAmericans are tired of a Congress that has a seemingly endless inability to work together,\u201d\u00a0Rep. Gardner\u00a0said. \u201cA growing bipartisan group of Members of Congress have come together to achieve a simple goal: save taxpayer money, and reduce the amount of energy the federal government uses. I am glad the Obama Administration had made the decision to extend this commonsense initiative.\u201d\n\u201cEnergy efficiency is a practical idea that cuts through partisan gridlock in Washington and achieves real progress for the American people by creating jobs and saving taxpayer dollars.\u00a0 There is broad bipartisan and bicameral support for energy efficiency investments and the Administration\u2019s announcement today reflects that support.\u00a0 I applaud their decision to extend this program and look forward to working with them achieve even more energy savings,\u201d\u00a0Rep. Welch\u00a0said.\n\u201cI applaud this commonsense effort to use public-private partnerships to achieve both energy efficiency and savings for American taxpayers. While debate and disagreement are part of a healthy democracy, our bipartisan letter and today's announcement show that we can also find areas of common ground and agreement to tackle challenges our nation faces,\u201d\u00a0Senator Boozman\u00a0said.\nIn 2011, the President kicked off a\u00a02-year initiative\u00a0to achieve $2 billion in energy savings in federal buildings. The 2011 executive order employed the use of Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) and Utility Energy Services Contracts (UESCs) to achieve energy savings in federal buildings.\u00a0Under an ESPC or UESC, an energy services company or a utility negotiates a contract with a federal agency that specifies the amount of energy savings it will achieve through retrofits and other measures. The company or utility is then paid for its performance out of the savings it achieves rather than through appropriated funds.\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n                    \n        \n        \n\t\t\n                    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTags:\n                            \n                                \n                                Jobs,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Energy Efficiency,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Environment,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Energy,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                President Obama", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221011910/http://www.coons.senate.gov/newsroom/releases/release/senator-coons-applauds-extension-of-energy-efficiency-initiative"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 3.260411089286208, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}