Before leaving for summer recess, the U.S. Senate made the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Bill (S. 1392) the official order of business on the Senate floor upon members' return on Sept. 9, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. The bill, drafted by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and introduced on July 30, contains useful provisions on building codes, industrial energy efficiency and efficiency improvements to federal facilities.

Key members in the House indicated that the House will take up a companion bill introduced by Rep. David McKinley (R-W. Va.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) after the Senate acts. The two bills will likely differ in some respects, so negotiations will be needed between the House and the Senate to agree on a common bill — perhaps early in 2014. Click the link above to read more about this bill and the companion House bill (H.R. 1616).