Obama Administration Officials Highlight Energy Efficiency Upgrades

WASHINGTON D.C. – This week, several high-ranking members of the Obama-Biden Administration highlighted some of their agencies’ efforts to improve energy efficiency and, in turn, save money, create jobs, and reduce dangerous carbon pollution.

The week’s activities – featuring top officials from the Departments of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Veterans Affairs – come as part of an administration-wide initiative to begin weatherizing and retrofitting our nation’s building stock.  Citing the huge rewards American families stand to reap from energy efficiency upgrades, Vice President Joe Biden first called for that concerted effort at a Middle Class Task Force Meeting in late May.

"By retrofitting and improving American buildings to waste less energy, we can save Americans billions of dollars in energy costs.  At the same time, we can create jobs and reduce the strain on our nation’s power grid. Reducing the load on our coal-fired power plants would, in turn, cut air pollution - letting our kids and seniors breathe a little easier," said Van Jones, Special Advisor for Green Jobs at the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The Vice President tasked CEQ with overseeing the initiative. 

"In other words, an aggressive program to retrofit America will create more work, more wealth, and better health for all Americans," Jones said.

The following events and announcements took place this week.

##