With all the partisanship in Washington, D.C., it’s hard to feel optimistic that Democrats and Republicans will be able to come together on much. There is, however, a bright spot when it comes to the issue of energy efficiency, and I believe that progress can be made on both sides of the aisle.

The United States is the second-largest energy consumer in the world (China is the first), and our demand only continues to grow. While more production is one way to meet this demand, we must also look at the consumption side and ask ourselves this: are we being as efficient as possible with our energy usage?

Energy efficiency is not a front-page headline-grabber like the fiscal cliff or the debt ceiling, but it should be.

Using our energy more efficiently saves money, cuts pollution and creates jobs. That is why I have partnered with Rep. Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont, to form a bipartisan Energy Efficiency Caucus with a simple goal: focus on promoting performance contracting in government buildings across the country and thereby provide guaranteed energy savings to American taxpayers. No government mandates are required. It’s simply a free market idea to achieve energy efficiency.

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