vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote? if not, the ayes are 51, the nays are 43. the nomination is confirmed.

under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table, and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of daniel j. santos of virginia to be a member of the defense nuclear facilities safety board, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of daniel j. santos of virginia to be a member of the defense nuclear facilitates safety board shall be brought to a close? the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators wishing to vote or wishing to change their vote? if not the ayes are 54, the nays are 39. the motion to invoke cloture is agreed to. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion. we, the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate hereby move to bri to a close debate on the nomination of frank a. rose of massachusetts to be an assistant secretary of the verification and compliance signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of frank a. rose of massachusetts to be an assistant

secretary of the shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators wishing to vote or wish to change their vote? if not, the ayes are 54, the nays are 39, the motion is agreed to. a senator: mr. president? mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i yield to the senator from oregon. the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. merkley: thank you very much. i that my intern, jonathan merkley, be allowed the privileges of the floor through wednesday. the presiding officer: without objection. the majority leader. mr. reid: the two votes

scheduled for the morning will be done by voice. the first will be at 2:30 tomorrow afternoon. mr. president, shortly the senior senator from connecticut, senator blumenthal, will ask consent the senate take up and pass the clay hunt suicide prevention act. the reason clay hunt was used as a model for this situation we have is because of his outstanding record. here's a man, they've done special on "60 minutes" for him, he was two tours of duty, a marine in iraq and afghanistan, purple heart, just a wonderful human being. he got out and went and helped with the earthquake in haiti. but, mr. president, he could not overcome what happened to him in his combat mission. so this issue is so important

for our veterans. today, since 7:00 this morning to 7:00 in the morning, 22 veterans will kill themselves, commit suicide, every day. they don't take weekends off, seven days a week. we need to stop this devastation and that's what it is. mr. president, suicide is very personal to me. as some of you will know, my good dad killed himself, so the heartbreak that's caused, the total loss, the inability to understand caused by this needless, preventible death of a loved one is hard to comprehend. the clay hunt suicide prevention act is bipartisan legislation. the bill passed the house last tuesday. i thank senators mccain and walsh for their work on this veterans suicide issue. they both had their own legislation to address this important issue.

a vietnam veteran and iraq veteran and commend senator blumenthal for all of his efforts to get this important bill passed. we shouldn't delay a minute more in passing this legislation. the bill is supported by an overwhelming majority of the senate. we could pass it just like that. we could have the cooperation. there's only one senator, i understand, standing in the way. let's do what's right for our veterans one more time before we close the 113th congress. mr. president, 22 veterans are dying by their own hand every day. mr. blumenthal: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i'm honored and proud to follow the majority leader and i thank him for his remarks. i will be making my remarks in support of my request for unanimous consent.

if there is an objection in deference to the senator from oklahoma, i will withhold the body of my remarks until after there is an objection, but i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of h.r. 5059, the clay hunt save act, which was received by the house and is at the desk and further that the bill be read three times and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. at the conclusion of any remarks from the senator from oklahoma and the senator from ohio, i will then proceed. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. coburn: reserving the right to object. the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. coburn: mr. president, first of all let me say that i recognize the honor of the senator from connecticut for his service in our military.

i didn't serve in our military. i actually was in college during the vietnam war. i drew 354 on the lottery the week before i was to be drafted. i had two brothers that served, not in vietnam but served in the military. my father and both uncles served during warmed, during world war ii, my grandfather earned the croix degu eerre during world war i. i would also state as a physician i know suicide all too well. i have failed patients in the past doing everything i knew to do but they still took their lives. i've also experienced it personally in my own family. i know this issue.

and i also know what we did three and a half months ago. we passed the veterans choice act, of which i ultimately voted against because it didn't do what we promised the veterans we would do. to this date, secretary mcdonald has fired one person out of hundreds that should have been fired, because we didn't give him the right authority in that bill to hold the v.a. accountable. i've treated patients with the demons that these young men and women have when they come back from war. the night terrors, the conflict when they turn around corner and what they do is get a flashback of where they were versus they

see their wife and daughter and then they have the built built on top of that of what's wrong with me. 34% of the people who are applying for mental health benefits today from the v.a. are getting seen within the appropriate time. almost everything that's in this bill has already been authorized and approved with the $10 billion that we sent to the v.a. when every veteran regardless of how long his hair is or how unshaven he is or how scraggly or nice he is looks the greeted with a yes, ma'am or yes, sir, is greeted with a smile at every veterans' facility, treated with the respect they deserve because they served and some of us didn't, that's when we know

we will have put the v.a. back on course. my great colleague from connecticut is going to be the ranking member on the v.a. committee along with johnny isakson from georgia. i have a challenge for you. i'm going to be objecting to this bill because it throws money and doesn't solve the real problem. and i know most of my colleagues disagree with me on that, but i actually did the work. i started a year before all the v.a. scandals started, i've documented nearly a thousand deaths at the hands of lack of our oversight. the lack of us holding the v.a. accountable. people are going to make mistakes all the time. we're the ones that have no excuse for not holding the v.a. accountable. our veterans deserve the very best.

we cannot eliminate all the tragedies that occur with war. some of the most remarkable things happen during this bill. i have a military liaison who had significant injuries as he served this country. he got targeted by the veterans groups that wanted to pass this bill. talk about dishonoring a veteran? you're going after my m.l.a., who served this country with distinction, whose had multiple, multiple operations because of his injuries secondary to burns in his service to this country. nothing could be lower than that. that's politics at its worst. so i believe in all my heart, i prayed all weekend, how do i answer this question.

and the answer to the question is to do the hard work over the next year. don't pass another bill. hold the v.a. accountable. there should be a hearing every week on every aspect of every aspect of everything that the v.a. does for the whole next two years so that they, in fact, will treat the people who put their lives on the line with the very respect, the very service that they so richly earned and we bespoiled because we undervalue it. we have great employees at most of the v.a. facilities but we have some stinkers. and until you change the attitude, until you hold the administration of the veterans administration accountable, you

will never change the attitude that our veterans aren't getting the very best. and they deserve the very best. my heart breaks for the people who commit suicide. you know what it is? they find no relief anywhere else except death. there's no answer for them. we don't give it to them. we have failed them. i personally have failed them. in my own medical practice. and so they look at the only option that gives them relief from the tremendous pressure and tension under which they are experiencing. you know, i had a very close friend in the house whose son took his own life and we've

spent years building and loving that family to be able to deal with that loss. events, catastrophic events, depression and situations lead people to suicide not any one individual. they are searching for an answer that we have failed to give them. they are searching for the support and the nurturing and the love that needs to be there to say i'm going to mentor you and get you through this. that's where the v.a. has failed. that's where the military has failed. that's where we have failed. even the veterans administration says everything in this bill's already been authorized.

so what's it really about? it's about addressing an issue without addressing the issue. the real hard work will come when on c-span, me sitting in oklahoma, i get to see dick blumenthal and johnny isakson grilling every aspect of the v.a. to make sure they're top notch, they're putting the sacrifice on the line the same way our soldiers do. that's when we start changing things. so regrettably, mr. president, i object to this bill not because i don't want to help save suicides, because i don't think this bill's going to do the first thing to change what's happening. what's going to change what's happening is when we, as members of the u.s. senate and u.s. congress, start bearing down and creating the transparency that's necessary so that americans can see that our veterans are getting everything they deserve

and a "yes, sir," and a "no, sir, a "yes, ma'am,,"" no, ma'am" and a smile. and when they leave their v.a., they leave there fulfilled and proud they're a veteran. i object. mr. blumenthal: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticutment co. mr. blumenthal: mr. president, i want to respond to the senator from oklahoma by first of all expressing my deep respect and appreciation for the work that he has done to hold accountable the veterans administration and many other agencies of our united states government. in fact, he leaves a legacy of oversight that the i will be honored to continue and i hope we will continue through the veterans affairs committee. and his efforts to scrutinize government spending through individual and independent assessments in fact are addressed in this bill, in

section 2, which requires, in fact, an independent third party top annually evaluate the department of veterans affairs, to establish metrics, to identify the cost-effectiveness of programs and to propose best practices. holding the v.a. accountable is one of the core purposes of this bill. and the i'm asking that the united states senate take up a bill that was passed unanimously in the house of representatives, that is supported on a bipartisan basis by 21 of our colleagues that is blocked by a single member and that will make an impact on the spreading scourge of suicides among some of our very bravest and best warriors. we don't know -- it remains a

mystery -- how some of our most courageous and steadfast war fighters can stare down death on the battlefield and succumb to it at home by their own hand, those demons, those inner doub doubts, the invisible wounds of war, post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury are taking their toll at the rate of 22 a day. this measure is actually scaled back. it is targeted and focused to provide incremental benefits to those veterans who are at risk by providing additional resources, psychiatrists and counselors, by mandating accountability in the use of those resources more than we did

3 1/2 months ago in that measure that i strongly supported. and i want to express my appreciation to our 21 colleagues who have supported this measure but also to the iava and the v.f.w., to the survivors of veterans suicides across the country and their family and the families who came before us in the committee, like susan selke, whose son, clay hunt, is in the name of this bill. susan selke urged us to pass this legislation that will provide for an independent and strong source of accountability because she believes it is necessary to help others like

her son before they succumb, as her son did. and that kind of outside review to impose discipline on the v.a. is, as my colleague has said, is absolutely necessary, not only on the v.a. but on v.a. clinics and hospitals around the country. but we need more psychiatrists in those v.a. clinics and hospitals, and this measure will provide those resources along with accountability. in one of his most recent reports, my colleague from oklahoma highlighted the appalling case of dr. margaret moxnous. and i'm quoting from his report, and i thank him for that report and others that he has authored. dr. margaret marksnous, a former physician at the hunting v.a. medical center in charleston, west virginia, said that she reported patients who needed immediate mental health treatment, supervisors

instructed her to delay care anyway. she saw at least two patients commit suicide while waiting for treatment between psychological appointments, end of quote. i share my colleague's view. we cannot simply hire our way out of this problem. we have a nationwide shortage of mental health care professionals and that's why this legislation in section 4 grows a pool of psychiatrists through tuition assistance. that's why in section 6 it requires the v.a. to collaborate with outside nonprofit mental health organizations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of suicide prevention efforts. this scaled-back bill is a down payment. it's not the end of solutions to

this problem. it's a worthwhile measure that takes limited, targeted steps. much more can and should be do done. it's been championed by chairman sanders -- and i thank him -- and ranking member burr for their efforts in the veterans access choice and accountability act. this job will not be done until we end every suicide, not just the 22 every day but every one of those 22 pfer day in this country. every single one of us, if we are honest with ourselves, knows a family that has been touched by this problem. every single member of this body, and i know it all too well because a friend of mine, justin eldridge of southeastern connecticut, succumbed to suicide as well. he was deployed in combat in

afghanistan where he braved mortar fire and sniper fire and he returned to his family, his children and his wife, his very young family, suffering from traumatic brain injury and post post-traumatic stress. as brave as he'd been on the battlefield, he could not win that war at home. he sought mental health care at the connecticut v.a. facility and he had gone through a long battle for benefits. i helped him with it. but there was a significant gap in the continuity of his medical care. basically he slipped through the crack. and he eventually took his life. i knew him as the founder of the marine corps league in southeastern connecticut, which i was proud to join as a member. how he fell into that black hole of depression and despair, i

certainly will never understand. but i hope someone could have understood it if we had provided the kinds of presources that are necessary -- resources that are necessary in connecticut and around the country, and we have an obligation to leave none of these veterans behind, to hold the v.a. accountable, to make sure the resources are well spent, to avoid duplication but to reach out to those brave and fearless warriors who fight on our battlefields, who defend our nation and then are threatened and sometimes lose the war at home to post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries, medical conditions that can be overcome with the right care as soon as possible. i hope that my colleague from oklahoma will withdraw his

objection. i thank my colleagues for supporting this measure. if it fails this time, we will bring it back and we will win and leave no veteran behind. thank you, mr. president. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. walsh: mr. president, today the senate had an opportunity to act and pass important legislation that will continue to address the crisis of veteran suicide. the numbers have been talked about. we are losing 22 service members, veterans each and every day across this country. thousands of men and women each year are dying by suicide. if we were losing 22 of our service members on the battlefield each and every day, the citizens of this country would be up in arms, the members of congress would be up in arms.

we would be taking action to ensure that we were doing something about that. and i recall when this body did take action. i was on the -- in iraq -- in kuwait, as a matter of fact, getting ready to go across the border, and there was -- the secretary of the defense at that time came o.e.f. fo over for a l meeting and we talked about how poor the equipment was, that our reserve component members were being given to go across the border from kuwait to iraq. shortly after that time, the reserve component started to receive up-oarmored humvees. the action that this body took made a difference, once they started to receive uparmorred humvees, the same type that our active duty counterparts were receiving, it did make a difference. so this body has an opportunity to take action. we have put over a million men and women into the v.a. health

care system over the past 13 years, and we have not provided the resources that our men and women in the v.a. need to take care of this -- these millions of men and women that have been put into the v.a. health care system. so when we talk about -- that the v.a. health care system needs to do a better job, think about the resource -- not -- about us not providing them with the resources to do their job. that's what this body is being asked to do, to provide the v.a. health care system with the resources, to provide additional psychological health care providers in v.a.'s all across our country so that the men and women who are coming back with psychological wounds of war can be dealt with. when i introduced the first version of this important legislation back in march, i committed to use my time in office to bring attention to this issue. so i want to thank all of the members of this body who have stood up and all the organizations who have come together and realized that we

have a problem. 22 men and women each and every day dying by suicide. we need to do something. we have done some things, but it's not enough. it is a terrible disservice to millions of veterans and their families that this important bill has been blocked from passing, because we are not doing everything we can do. congress just can't thank our veterans, and we hear that each and every day on this floor and over in the house, about how much we appreciate our veterans, how much we appreciate the men and women who are willing to sign on the dotted line, how much we appreciate their families for the sacrifice that they make each and every day while our men and women are serving in iraq and afghanistan. our men and women who serve in our armed forces are willing to put their lives on the line, willing to put their lives on the line for our freedoms and the things that we enjoy each and every day across this country. we need to do more than provide lip service from this chamber

about taking care of our men and women who sign and are willing to give their lives for this country, and for those who have given that i remember lives for this -- and for those who have given their lives for this country. as somebody who has seen the invisible wounds of war in men and women under my comarntiond i am deeply disappoint -- under my command, i am deeply disappointed that we haven't been able to t.s.a. pass this legislation, to -- to pass this legislation, to begin contemplating helping our men and women who are dying from suicide. right now when a young man or woman comes home, he or she can go to the v.a. and they're taken care of for up to five years. sometimes the wounds of ptsd or traumatic brain injury are taking longer than five years to surface. some of this -- so we need to continue to provide that service for up to ten years or, in my opinion, for as long as these men and women are around and still living. they were, again, willing to put

their lives on the line for this country. we need to be willing to take care of them for the rest of their lives, for those that were fortunate enough to come home from sesqui our country. d. from serving our country. i am glad to see senator blumenthal will be around for the next congress, because i know he and other members of this body will continue to fight to make sure that our men and women who served our country and who are suffering from the visible and invisible wounds of war will have a -- someone here to fight for them, because i know that they will continue to carry on this message. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the snrt from ohio. mr. portman: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent at that the energy committee be discharged from further drgs of 2126 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration, the bill be head a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? there is objection.

objection is heard. mr. portman: thank you. mr. president, this is with regard to energy legislation that has passed the house. it is four commonsense, simple provisions that we had hoped to be able to pass by unanimous consent tonight. i am hopeful that i can still convince my colleague that this is something that's gad for a american jobs, for american business and for energy efficiency. there are four or five speakers who would like it talk on this. so what i would like do, if i could, mr. president, is ask them to begin the debate here and then i will wrap it up at the end. mrs. shaheen: mr. president, thank you. i rise in support of my colleague, senator -- and my partner in this energy efficiency effort, senator portman, to support his unanimous consent request that the senate pass h.r. 2126, the energy efficiency improvement act. i'm disappointed to hear senator coburn's continued objection to

this legislation and to energy efficiency measures. this bill is identical to a more narrowly focused energy efficiency bill that senator portman and i introduced recently in the senate, and it tracks closely to legislation that we've been working on actually for four years, the energy savings and industrial competitiveness act, also known as shaheen-portman. so the legislation before us, h.r. 2126, is really a shortened version of shaheen-portman. unfortunately, as we know, that longer version, the energy efficiency act, has stalled twice on the senate floorks not- on the senate floor because of disagreements over other issues that were related to energy but unrelated to our bill. now, while we may not be able to

pass the larger bill this session, the senate still has an opportunity to pass meaningful energy efficiency legislation by passing h.r. 2126. this is bipartisan legislation that was introduced in the house by representatives mckinley, a republican from west virginia, and welch, a democrat from vermont. it passed the house earlier this year with overwhelming start support from both sides of the aisle, 375-36. that broad bipartisan support extends beyond capital hill. it enjoys the support of business groups, environmental organizations, and efficiency advocates who all recognize that energy efficiency is the cheapest, fastest way to begin addressing our nation's energy needs. supporters include everyone from the national -- from the natural resources defense counsel to the u.s. green building counsel to the u.s. chamber of commerce, the real estate round table, the

list of businesses and organizations that have endorsed this bill numbers over 200. this bill contains several provisions that will encourage efficient energy consumption and, as a result of this legislation, consumers and families will save money. the legislation will grow our economy, create jobs, and it will reduce pollution. it really is a win-win-win. and even though i.t. no it's noe longer version of energy efficiency legislation that senator portman and i have been work on for the last four years, it will do a number of things that are critical to address our energy needs. first, it will create a voluntary market-based tenet-star program modeled after the successful energy star program from building owners. and it sets up a voluntary certification system for efficiency in commercial tenant

spaces. i see senator ayotte, who i think will speak to this provision in the bill. and what it does not do -- and i think this is important to remind people -- is provide financial incentives or create new regulations. it does not do that. it simply is a voluntary market-based, business-friendly approach to encourage energy efficiency in commercial buildings. it also will establish a benchmarking and disclosing process for federally leased buildings. so we'll you a know how much is energy is being consumed. third, it will require federal agencies to implement strategies to increase the efficiency of data centers that are operated by the federal government, a huge user of energy. and finally, it will remove a regulatory barrier to the manufacture of large-scale water heretos, something that i think senator hoeven has been work on to a long time.

so, these four sequence, target -- these four common sense, targeted provisions are create jobs and demand for american-made energy efficiency technologies, will save businesses and families money on their energy bills, and they will cut pollution. so i'm pleased to join senator portman in this unanimous consent request. i'm disappointed that once again we're going to be prevented from moving forward with common sense energy efficiency measures. i do hope with the tinged support on bowgets sides of the aisle for -- on both sides of the aisle for energy efficiency, that we will be able to come back before the end of this year and pass this measure. thank you very much, mr. president. ms. ayotte: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire. ms. ayotte: mr. president, i first of all want to tank my colleague from new hampshire for her leadership on this important legislation and i join her

request, as well as the senator from ohio, senator portman's request, for unanimous consent on h.r. 2126 that passed the house overwhelmingly in march by 375-36 votes. why is that? because this is common sense, bipartisan legislation that creates jobs, increases energy efficiency, reduces the amount of energy that we need to use, and less pollution, and think about our overall goals of making sure that america remains safe, energy independence, and energy security, and it does it all in a way that is market-based, in a way that you've seen overwhelming support from both the business community and the environmental community, and so i want to thank this house bill that we're asking unanimous consent on is a

companion bill to the work done by senators portman and shaheen in the energy efficiency improvement act, which i am proud to be a cosponsor of. and this is an area where i believe we can find strong, common ground in this body. energy efficiency measures that are market-based, that move us forward to use less energy and create american jobs. within this bill is a provision called the better buildings act, which i was proud to introduce with senator bennet from colorado, and this is common sense, no-cost legislation that would help boost energy efficiency in commercial buildings through the design and construction of efficiency improvements and leased tenant spaces in commercial buildings. so one of the important pieces of this legislation that is contained in the better buildings act actually brings the tenants into the discussion, and it's voluntary. it creates a situation where we have tenants and owners working

together to reduce energy costs, save us money, create jobs. and so i'm hopeful that this bill will be cleared. this legislation -- it's not often, when you look at the list of groups that are supporting this legislation, it is not o -- it is not often that these groups come together and really speaks to the common sense importance of this legislation. i want to thank senators shaheen and portman. i hope has a body wreck get this done. -- i hope as a body we can get this done. this is just plain common sense. i yield the floor. ms. murkowski: mr. president, i, too, want to join in the unanimous consent request that was been raid b raised by my cos on this very important bill. i have to say, it feels a little bit like instead of calling it the energy efficiency bill, we need to call it the groun grouns

day bill because it just keeps coming back and back and back. and it is a measure that, as my colleagues have mentioned, is so common sense. when we think about ways that we can do more to be responsible stewards of our energy resources, do more to reduce our costs, energy efficiency is just calling to us all. and so what we have in front of us today is not the full-on energy efficiency bill that senators shaheen and portman have been working so diligently on for so many years now, but it is a slimmed-down version coming across from the house, a house-drafted, republican-sponsored, cost of this neutral bill that passed that chamber on suspension in march. and as was noted by a margin of 375-36. four major provisions in the bill, but none of these provisions are controversial.

probably the most important to us right now is the time-sensitive provision that provides regulatory relief for our rural electric co-ops. under a consent decree from 2010, water heater manufacturers have until just midapril, april 16 of next year, to meet revised energy efficiency standards from the department of energy. so you've got a situation where in anticipation of this deadline, companies that make certain types of water heaters are already stopping their production. as a result, you're going to have co-ops that will effectively no longer have the ability to purchase them and use them in their system. so they're coming to us and saying help, we need to have some certainty here and now. and so what we do in this measure, what the house does is simply exempt rural co-ops from

revised standards. it creates a different achievable standard for them. it's a compromise that has been forged by the co-ops, the industry, department of energy. senator hoeven has been leading on this and has been great in this. but this is something that needs to be addressed and it needs to be addressed now rather than later. the remaining provisions within this measure are all voluntary efficiency programs. one focuses on the efficiency of commercial office buildings. another provides greater information about energy usage in the buildings. then the third looks at energy-efficient government technology and practices. again, mr. president, none of these are controversial. none of them impose mandates, penalties or taxes. c.b.o. has deemed them to cost nothing, so there's only benefit. there's only up side. again, we have seen the full-on energy efficiency measure before us now two separate times on

this floor. we reported that bill from the energy committee on a strong bipartisan basis. we really should be moving to do right when it comes to energy efficiency. senators shaheen and portman have led that effort. the house has now acted. it's unfortunate that we will not be able to resolve this, but i am certainly committed to working with my colleagues in the new year to advance what again is just simple common sense. with that, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. hoeven: i'd like to thank the senator from alaska for leadership of our energy committee on this and many other important energy issues. and i really just want to follow along with much of what she just covered and why it is important. and in this legislation that's sponsored by senator portman and senator shaheen there are a number of energy efficiency

measures, but the one she emphasizes and the one i want to emphasize is the water heater efficiency provision. it is very important for people in rural areas across the country. the rural electric cooperatives have been very strong on working to get this legislation passed. they've gotten it passed in the house on behalf of all those people out there in rural america where this can make a real difference in terms of quality of life, but at the same time save energy and save money. so it really is one of those measures where everyone wins all the way around. we've sponsored this in a number of different forms. we have not been able to move it through the senate yet. we will, i am convinced, move it through next year. but as the good senator from alaska said, there are some time lines here that make it very important that we get the measure passed.

essentially what we're dealing with is in 2010 the department of energy issued a rule on water heaters that will effectively ban the manufacture of large electric water heaters beginning in 2015. so next year, which could -- greatly affect consumers in rural areas. many of our rural rears not -- rural areas are not serviced by natural gas and geothermal water heaters could cost thousands of dollars. this still lets our rural areas have access to affordable efficient water heaters that can supplement renewable energy. many electric cooperates and other utilities have voluntary demand response programs that use electric water heaters more to more effectively manage power

supply and demand. in those areas where renewables are part of the electric generation system, these water heaters facilitate the integration of renewable energy that can be stored for use during peak hours like wind and solar energy. so this provision would allow the continued manufacture of large grid-enabled electric-resistance water heaters only for use in electric thermal storage or demand response programs, meaning you're using off-peak load. you're using lower-cost energy, energy that otherwise would be lost. so it's, again it really is a win for everyone involved. this provision would require grid enabled water heaters to have a volume of more than 75 gallons, be energy efficient and work on grids that have a demand responsibility. it's that simple, it's that straightforward, it's that

common sense. but it affects a tremendous number of people across rural america. people in states like indiana, north dakota, ohio, across the country. so i'm convinced we're going to get this. the issue is when. and we are facing this time line, as i say, in 2015. i'll just conclude with some of the organizations that support this legislation. i don't know of anyone opposing it and we've got a tremendous number of organizations that support it, including the air conditioning, heating and refrigeration institute, the american council for an energy efficient economy, the american public power association, edison electric institute, general electric company, national rural electric cooperatives association, national resource defense council, northwest energy alliance. the bill saves money. it saves energy. it benefits the environment. it benefits consumers. so, look, we need to get it

passed. i think this bill on the floor easily gets more than enough to pass on a bipartisan basis with flying colors. and, mr. president, i would certainly yield the floor to our leader on this important issue, the goes from ohio. the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. portman: mr. president, i thank you and thank my colleague he's done a great job in talking about the importance of this bill. he made a great point about the importance of dealing with this water heater issue. he feels it every day because in north dakota he hears from the electric co-op saying this is crazy, why wouldn't we pass this legislation. in effect what he just said was we need to pass this legislation to be able to keep the federal government from imowsing a regulation that makes -- from imposing a regulation that makes no sense for anybody. i'm hopeful we can get this done. i know we had an objection

earlier in the process this evening. i'm hopeful we can convince the colleague from oklahoma who objected that this is commonsense legislation that has to get passed. we've heard from senator shaheen also who has been the democrat leader on this with me. we also heard from the chairman of the energy committee come january, senator murkowski, republican from alaska. she's strongly supportive of it. we heard from senator ayotte, also a republican from new hampshire, who is an expert on energy efficiency as it relates to what is called tenant star and better building programs. this is one thing we ought to be getting done here during this lame-duck session of congress. we're doing other things that i think could be improved but this is one where it's just so simple. just to be sure people understand what we're talking about tonight, these are four provisions that have all passed the senate committees, have all passed the house committees unanimously, by the way, these four provisions passed unanimously in the house of representatives.

republican house of representatives. it has come to the floor twice here in the senate for other reasons which had to do with process and not allowing amendments, the overall bill was objected to but not these four provisions. then these four provisions went to a house floor for a vote and passed overwhelmingly 375-36. this is the sort of legislation that has been fully vetted. everybody knows what's in it. it's being supported across the spectrum, and we could help people right away. there's also an urgency here because thee manufacturers who are making these water heaters at the department of energy, under their regulations want to be prohibited, those manufacturers are telling us the deadline is right now even though it is not until march, april that the regulations have a deadline, the manufacturers are already stopping production of these water heaters because it takes that long to get them manufactured and get them distributed out to these rural co-ops. it's urgent that we do this now and not wait until january.

and if we don't, we're going to hurt a lot of consumers and hurt a lot of rural co-ops and do something that makes no sense. you want to encourage these water heaters to be built because these water heaters are part of a program where because they are not used during peak times, called the demand response program, they actually save energy. this is a good thing. so i'm hopeful that that provision will be able to get through along with the others. this is a bill that's already passed the house unanimously out of committee, overwhelming vote on the floor. all we have to do tonight is say yes and it goes to the president for his signature. the administration has indicated they will sign it. it will then become law. but there are three other provisions we should also talk about. one is called the tenant star provision. it was talked about earlier tonight. let me be sure people understand what it really is. some of you are aware of a program for appliances called energy star. a consumer can go into an appliance store and determine whether something meets the standard, the good housekeeping

seal for energy efficiency. when we bought a drier that was nice to know whether it had the stamp of approval or not. some people like energy efficiency appliances because it saves you money. that is not a mandate, not a tax incentive. it contains no regulatory authority. there is nothing in it that requires any new spending. but it does give a boost and a powerful branding opportunity to commercial real estate owners to market buildings to tenants, investors and other key audiences. it says as the appliance good housekeeping seal says it says to a business owner this tenant space is efficient. it meets the tenant star requirements. that's why this provision is so strongly supported by commercial real estate industry, organizations like real estate round table. the industry considers this provision as an important alternative to onerous regulations. they like this because it's voluntary. and as consumers, we should all like it because it's something

that gives us more information to be able to make a good decision. the third provision that we're talking about tonight has to do with the federal government. let me just make this very clear. the federal government is the biggest user of energy in the world. and one of the most inefficient, unfortunately. so the federal government says everybody needs to be more focused on energy efficiency. as i look at this, we ought to get the federal government to practice what it preaches, and that's what this provision does. it does it with regard to information technology. we hear constantly from outside groups that this is one area that's right for savings. in other words, there's lots of energy savings that could be accomplished in the energy area through information technology being used more efficiently. we've had had hearings on this and testimony on this. we know that this is an area where we can have a lot of savings. they can require the federal government, again, to coordinate with the office of management and budget, with the department of energy, with the e.p.a. to

develop an implementation strategy that includes best practices, measurements, be verification techniques for the maintenance of i.t., purchase of i.t., the use of energy-efficient information technologies. there's so much more we can do here with regard to i.t. we know that. that's why it passed the house unanimously in committee and overwhelmingly on the floor because we know this is an area where our federal government, where tax dollars are being spent. it can't be much more efficient. good for the environment, good for taxpayers, less energy. and overall, good for our energy policy in this country. finally, the fourth provision -- remember four simple provisions -- has to do with an existing requirement in commercial buildings leased by the federal government have to disclose their energy usage. this modifies that provision. it says that you've got to provide more information with regard to what the actual energy usage is in these buildings. the federal government, largest

energy user in the world to make them more efficient with regard to their buildings makes all the sense in the world. these are commercial buildings leafed by the federal government. this is not a mandate on the private sector. this does not cost anything. it does say we need to modify the requirement to require the federal government to disclose energy usage data. and this would help all of us. these are commonsense proposals that are bipartisan. they're long overdue. they could go to the president after a vote tonight for his signature. they could become law. i want to thank whoarch has been involved in -- who has been involved in this small bill getting it to the floor including senator murkowski, but also senator landrieu, current chair. senator ayotte, senator hoeven, senator ben.net who was on the floor earlier. i want to thank the business groups that have helped us craft legislation with such broad support. the least expensive energy is energy we don't use.

yes, we should produce more energy. i'm for that. we should also use the energy we have more efficiently. it helps create jobs. it helps make our country safer because it's a national security issue to make america energy dependent. it ensures we will have a better environment and it ensures that every dollar that a small business or manufacturer is spending on energy is used most efficiently which makes us more competitive in this global economy we find ourselves in. by the way, that leads to more jobs, higher wages, all the things that we should be doing here in this united states congress. so, mr. president, i thank you for listening tonight. i thank the american people for listening and i hope they will strongly support the legislation that we're putting forward tonight and then the broader bill that will come to the floor, we hope, after the first of the year because after the first of the year we'll have a chance to take up this issue, not just these four provisions if they aren't passed over the next couple of days here, but a broader bill that will be broadly supported by republicans and democrats alike that will help our country to become more energy efficient.

i yield b i yiel--i yield back my time. and, mr. president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

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