Washington, D.C. — Rep. David B. McKinley, P.E. (R-W.Va.) discussed the future of energy efficiency in a speech today to the World Energy Engineering Congress. He cited efficiency as an area where bipartisan compromise is possible.

“The focus in Washington is too often on the issues that divide us, not those that pull us together as a nation,” said McKinley. “We need to move beyond the partisanship and work together to make energy efficiency a priority.”

McKinley was invited to address the conference based on his leadership on energy efficiency issues in Congress. He has introduced three bipartisan bills dealing with energy efficiency, including the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2014, which passed the House earlier this year. He also serves as co-chair of the High Performance Buildings Caucus.

In his remarks, McKinley focused on several areas to increase efficiency, reduce energy use, and save money, including building construction and energy production. He noted that countries like China and Japan are devoting resources to study efficiency that far outpace the United States.

“America is losing its position as a global center of innovation,” said McKinley. “America used to be a place where companies came to do research and development. Now other countries are catching up. In this quest for efficiency, America can regain its preeminent role as a center of innovation.”

After his formal remarks McKinley took questions for the audience covering a wide range of topics from the future of coal, to providing electricity to Africa, to the best ways to encourage bipartisanship.

“For the last 238 years people across the world have turned to America for leadership,” said McKinley. “We’re an exceptional country that has produced great innovations. Congress needs to prove to the American people that we haven’t lost that edge. We need to find issues like energy efficiency where we can find common ground.”

The World Energy Engineering Congress is hosted by the Association of Energy Engineers and draws hundreds of leaders in the energy field. Former President Bill Clinton gave the keynote speech at the conference earlier today.