WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today led his colleagues in calling on Congress to uplift and adequately fund the ENERGY STAR program in the upcoming FY25 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill. ENERGY STAR is a voluntary, market-based program that underpins countless energy efficiency programs across the country, saves consumers billions of dollars annually, and eliminates billions in metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Despite these tangible benefits and substantial return on investment, funding for the program has steadily declined in the past decade.
The letter was sent to the leadership of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, and was signed by Sen. Welch and Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
“As Congress considers the Fiscal Year 2025 Appropriations Bill for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, we write to request that you establish an individual line item for the ENERGY STAR program in the Environmental Programs and Management account with a funding level of $50 million,” wrote the lawmakers. “Since 1992, the program has eliminated 4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions and saved American ratepayers more than $500 billion, including $42 billion in 2020 alone. Moreover, every Federal dollar spent on the program has resulted in $230 invested by American businesses and households in energy efficiency infrastructure.”
“As families and small businesses struggle to make ends meet and climate change continues to threaten our communities, the cost savings and efficiency benefits that ENERGY STAR provides are more important than ever. We again urge you to support our request to create an ENERGY STAR line item and to fund the program at $50 million for Fiscal Year 2025,” the lawmakers concluded.
Read and download the full letter here.
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