James E. Clyburn is the Majority Whip and the third-ranking Democrat in the United States House of Representatives. He previously served in the post from 2007 to 2011 and served as Assistant Democratic Leader from 2011 to 2019.
When he came to Congress in 1993 to represent South Carolina’s sixth congressional district, Congressman Clyburn was elected co-president of his freshman class and quickly rose through leadership ranks. He was subsequently elected Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Vice Chair, and later Chair, of the House Democratic Caucus.
BIPARTISAN BICAMERAL COALITION INTRODUCES LEGISLATION CREATING RURAL ENERGY SAVINGS PROGRAM
Creating Jobs, Saving Money, Reducing Pollution
On Wednesday March 10, 2010, a bipartisan coalition of Senate and House Members were joined by rural electric cooperatives and energy industry leaders to introduce legislation establishing a Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP) to create jobs, save American families and businesses money on their electric bills, and reduce air pollution. The legislation (H.R. 4785 in the House) is estimated to create 20,000 to 40,000 jobs a year.
The bill provides $4.9 billion in loan authority through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) to electric cooperatives to offer low-interest micro-loans to residential and small business customers for energy-saving retrofit and structural improvements. The program will be a boon for the domestic manufacturing and construction industries, as energy-efficiency products are almost exclusively manufactured in the United States and installation jobs cannot be exported. The program builds on the existing co-op infrastructure that has strong community ties and a demonstrated 75-year history of on-bill financing for consumer loans.