WASHINGTON - Manufacturers such as Missouri's Unico, Inc. received a boost yesterday when the U.S. Senate unanimously passed legislation that will make permanent a waiver to ensure certain products are no longer classified in a way that subjects them to unnecessary federal regulations. The legislation had been slightly modified in the U.S. House and required an additional Senate vote before heading to the President's desk.

"Small businesses and manufacturing jobs like these are critical to Missouri's economic success, and I'm going to fight every way I know how to give them the opportunity to succeed and grow," McCaskill said. "These regulations never made sense for manufacturers like Unico, and I'm glad we were able to get rid of the unnecessary burden."

"This is a great example of how working to cut excessive government regulations provides small businesses with the chance to grow and create more jobs. I will continue fighting to relieve costly and unnecessary regulatory burdens for small businesses in Missouri like Unico, and I hope President Obama will move quickly to sign this bill into law," said Blunt.

"This is a huge win for our company, workforce and the local economy," said Unico, Inc.'s President Shawn Intagliata. "Both of our Missouri Senators worked hard on this and really looked out for our small business-ensuring that Unico had the certainty we needed to keep our business successful and growing."

The Enabling Energy Saving Innovations Act included provisions from the SDHV Energy Efficiency Standards for America Act-which had strong bipartisan support. Unico, Inc manufactures small duct high velocity (SDHV) heating and cooling systems. For over ten years, Unico, Inc. has been seeking to codify an exemption from Department of Energy regulations that mistakenly lumped SDHVs with traditional heating and cooling products despite the fact that SDHVs are more efficient systems. This classification resulted in a loss of sales for Unico, Inc.

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