WASHINGTON, D.C. – In her first Senate floor speech Thursday afternoon, freshman Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said a major part of addressing the recession “should be to invest in clean, alternative energy and energy efficiency.”

Shaheen’s remarks echoed those of President-elect Barack Obama in a speech in Virginia and Gov. John Lynch in his inaugural address in Concord, both yesterday.

►Energy: Lynch, Obama speeches overlap (4)

Shaheen was sworn in on Tuesday as the state’s new junior senator and was assigned to the Senate energy and foreign relations committees.

Shaheen delivered her first floor speech at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. She called for a “bold economic recovery package” investing in infrastructure to “create needed jobs in the short-term and foster economic development in the long-term.

“With a bold investment in energy efficiency and clean, alternative energy, we can create millions of new 21st century green collar jobs, begin to reverse global warming and start on the path to energy independence,” Shaheen said.

She said that New Hampshire small businesses “already are leaders in the new energy economy, making everything from wood pellets to ethanol from forest by-products to solar panels and biofuels. We have seen firsthand how investment in clean energy creates good jobs up and down the economic ladder -- advanced manufacturing jobs, highly skilled construction jobs, jobs installing solar panels and energy efficiency systems, jobs selling and delivering new fuels.”

Shaheen also said that as the government spends money on economic recovery, “we must also develop a comprehensive plan to address the nation’s ballooning deficit and the enormous national debt we have inherited.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., was in the chamber for the speech and later called Shaheen “a great statesperson.”

Yesterday, Shaheen met with Department of Energy Secretary-designate Steven Chu.

As an incoming member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, she will play a role in confirming Secretary-designate Chu to his new position, said Shaheen spokesman Alex Reese.

Shaheen said she hopes to work with Chu and the Obama Adminstration "to help move our nation in a new direction on energy policy. We must make serious investments in clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency, and we must upgrade our energy transmission system to lay the foundation for a 21st century green economy. These investments will create good jobs, help revitalize our economy, begin to curb global warming, and put us on the path to energy independence."

Today, Shaheen is scheduled to attend an open house at her new state office at 1589 Elm St., Suite 3, in Manchester.