WASHINGTON (December 8, 2016)—Congress is poised to adjourn without acting on an energy bill, a development the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) called disheartening as the legislation was one of the few bipartisan measures both parties could have gotten behind.
Below is a statement by Rob Cowin, director of government affairs for the Climate and Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“The demise of the energy bill is a missed opportunity to reduce energy consumption and modernize our outdated electric grid. Senators Murkowski and Cantwell deserve high praise for doing the hard work of putting together a bill that was supported overwhelmingly by both parties in the Senate. Unfortunately the House took a much more partisan and divisive approach, with the speaker ultimately walking away from two years of bipartisan work.
“While the Senate legislation was only a modest step in the right direction on energy efficiency and clean energy infrastructure, doing absolutely nothing isn’t a defensible position; especially given the need to rapidly transition to a clean energy economy to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. This outcome is disappointing.”