[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 121 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 121

  To improve efficiency in the Federal Government through the use of 
       high-performance green buildings, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 4, 2007

 Mr. Doyle (for himself and Mrs. Bono) introduced the following bill; 
  which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in 
addition to the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, Science 
and Technology, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to 
      be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To improve efficiency in the Federal Government through the use of 
       high-performance green buildings, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``High-Performance 
Green Buildings Act of 2007''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
          TITLE I--OFFICE OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE GREEN BUILDINGS

Sec. 101. Oversight.
Sec. 102. Office of High-Performance Green Buildings.
Sec. 103. Green Building Advisory Committee.
Sec. 104. Public outreach.
Sec. 105. Research and development.
Sec. 106. Budget and life-cycle costing and contracting.
Sec. 107. Authorization of appropriations.
               TITLE II--STRENGTHENING FEDERAL LEADERSHIP

Sec. 201. Incentives.
Sec. 202. Federal procurement.
Sec. 203.  Federal green building performance.
                    TITLE III--DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

Sec. 301. Coordination of goals.
Sec. 302. Authorization of appropriations.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of General Services.
            (2) Committee.--The term ``Committee'' means the Green 
        Building Advisory Committee established under section 103(a).
            (3) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the individual 
        appointed to the position established under section 101(a).
            (4) Federal facility.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``Federal facility'' 
                means any building or facility the intended use of 
                which requires the building or facility to be--
                            (i) accessible to the public; and
                            (ii) constructed or altered by or on behalf 
                        of the United States.
                    (B) Exclusions.--The term ``Federal facility'' does 
                not include a privately-owned residential or commercial 
                structure that is not leased by the Federal Government.
            (5) High-performance green building.--The term ``high-
        performance green building'' means a building that, during its 
        life-cycle--
                    (A) reduces energy, water, and material resource 
                use;
                    (B) improves indoor environmental quality 
                including, reducing indoor pollution, improving thermal 
                comfort, and improving lighting and acoustic 
                environments that affect occupant health and 
                productivity;
                    (C) reduces negative impacts on the environment 
                throughout the life-cycle of the building, including 
                air and water pollution and waste generation;
                    (D) increases the use of environmentally preferable 
                products, including biobased, recycled content, and 
                nontoxic products with lower life-cycle impacts;
                    (E) increases reuse and recycling opportunities;
                    (F) integrates systems in the building;
                    (G) reduces the environmental and energy impacts of 
                transportation through building location and site 
                design that support a full range of transportation 
                choices for users of the building; and
                    (H) considers indoor and outdoor effects of the 
                building on human health and the environment, 
                including--
                            (i) improvements in worker productivity;
                            (ii) the life-cycle impacts of building 
                        materials and operations; and
                            (iii) other factors that the Office 
                        considers to be appropriate.
            (6) Life-cycle.--The term ``life-cycle'', with respect to a 
        high-performance green building, means all stages of the useful 
        life of the building (including components, equipment, systems, 
        and controls of the building) beginning at conception of a 
        green building project and continuing through site selection, 
        design, construction, landscaping, commissioning, operation, 
        maintenance, renovation, deconstruction or demolition, removal, 
        and recycling of the green building.
            (7) Life-cycle assessment.--The term ``life-cycle 
        assessment'' means a comprehensive system approach for 
        measuring the environmental performance of a product or service 
        over the life of the product or service, beginning at raw 
        materials acquisition and continuing through manufacturing, 
        transportation, installation, use, reuse, and end-of-life waste 
        management.
            (8) Life-cycle costing.--The term ``life-cycle costing'', 
        with respect to a high-performance green building, means a 
        technique of economic evaluation that--
                    (A) sums, over a given study period, the costs of 
                initial investment (less resale value), replacements, 
                operations (including energy use), and maintenance and 
                repair of an investment decision; and
                    (B) is expressed--
                            (i) in present value terms, in the case of 
                        a study period equivalent to the longest useful 
                        life of the building, determined by taking into 
                        consideration the typical life of such a 
                        building in the area in which the building is 
                        to be located; or
                            (ii) in annual value terms, in the case of 
                        any other study period.
            (9) Office.--The term ``Office'' means the Office of High-
        Performance Green Buildings established under section 102(a).

          TITLE I--OFFICE OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE GREEN BUILDINGS

SEC. 101. OVERSIGHT.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator shall establish within the 
General Services Administration, and appoint an individual to serve as 
Director in, a position in the career-reserved Senior Executive 
service, to--
            (1) establish and manage the Office in accordance with 
        section 102; and
            (2) carry out other duties as required under this Act.
    (b) Compensation.--The compensation of the Director shall not 
exceed the maximum rate of basic pay for the Senior Executive Service 
under section 5382 of title 5, United States Code, including any 
applicable locality-based comparability payment that may be authorized 
under section 5304(h)(2)(C) of that title.

SEC. 102. OFFICE OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE GREEN BUILDINGS.

    (a) Establishment.--The Director shall establish within the General 
Services Administration an Office of High-Performance Green Buildings.
    (b) Duties.--The Director shall--
            (1) ensure full coordination of high-performance green 
        building information and activities within the General Services 
        Administration and all relevant agencies, including, at a 
        minimum--
                    (A) the Environmental Protection Agency;
                    (B) the Office of the Federal Environmental 
                Executive;
                    (C) the Office of Federal Procurement Policy;
                    (D) the Department of Energy;
                    (E) the Department of Health and Human Services;
                    (F) the Department of Defense; and
                    (G) such other Federal agencies as the Director 
                considers to be appropriate;
            (2) establish a senior-level Federal green building 
        advisory committee, which shall provide advice and 
        recommendations in accordance with section 103;
            (3) identify and biennially reassess improved or higher 
        rating standards recommended by the Committee;
            (4) establish a national high-performance green building 
        clearinghouse in accordance with section 104, which shall 
        provide green building information through--
                    (A) outreach;
                    (B) education; and
                    (C) the provision of technical assistance;
            (5) ensure full coordination of research and development 
        information relating to high-performance green building 
        initiatives under section 105;
            (6) identify and develop green building standards that 
        could be used for all types of Federal facilities in accordance 
        with section 105;
            (7) establish green practices that can be used throughout 
        the life of a Federal facility;
            (8) review and analyze current Federal budget practices and 
        life-cycle costing issues, and make recommendations to 
        Congress, in accordance with section 106; and
            (9) complete and submit the report described in subsection 
        (c).
    (c) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, and biennially thereafter, the Director shall submit to 
Congress a report that--
            (1) describes the status of the green building initiatives 
        under this Act and other Federal programs in effect as of the 
        date of the report, including--
                    (A) the extent to which the programs are being 
                carried out in accordance with this Act; and
                    (B) the status of funding requests and 
                appropriations for those programs;
            (2) identifies within the planning, budgeting, and 
        construction process all types of Federal facility procedures 
        that inhibit new and existing Federal facilities from becoming 
        high-performance green buildings as measured by--
                    (A) a silver rating, as defined by the Leadership 
                in Energy and Environmental Design Building Rating 
                System standard established by the United States Green 
                Building Council (or an equivalent rating); or
                    (B) an improved or higher rating standard, as 
                identified by the Committee;
            (3) identifies inconsistencies, as reported to the 
        Committee, in Federal law with respect to product acquisition 
        guidelines and high-performance product guidelines;
            (4) recommends language for uniform standards for use by 
        Federal agencies in environmentally responsible acquisition;
            (5) in coordination with the Office of Management and 
        Budget, reviews the budget process for capital programs with 
        respect to alternatives for--
                    (A) restructuring of budgets to require the use of 
                complete energy- and environmental-cost accounting;
                    (B) using operations expenditures in budget-related 
                decisions while simultaneously incorporating 
                productivity and health measures (as those measures can 
                be quantified by the Office, with the assistance of 
                universities and national laboratories);
                    (C) permitting Federal agencies to retain all 
                identified savings accrued as a result of the use of 
                life-cycle costing for future high-performance green 
                building initiatives; and
                    (D) identifying short- and long-term cost savings 
                that accrue from high-performance green buildings, 
                including those relating to health and productivity;
            (6) identifies green, self-sustaining technologies to 
        address the operational needs of Federal facilities in times of 
        national security emergencies, natural disasters, or other dire 
        emergencies;
            (7) summarizes and highlights development, at the State and 
        local level, of green building initiatives, including executive 
        orders, policies, or laws adopted promoting green building 
        (including the status of implementation of those initiatives); 
        and
            (8) includes, for the 2-year period covered by the report, 
        recommendations to address each of the matters, and a plan for 
        implementation of each recommendation, described in paragraphs 
        (1) through (6).
    (d) Implementation.--The Office shall carry out each plan for 
implementation of recommendations under subsection (c)(7).

SEC. 103. GREEN BUILDING ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Director shall establish a committee to be 
known as the ``Green Building Advisory Committee''.
    (b) Membership.--The Committee shall be composed of representatives 
of, at a minimum--
            (1) each agency referred to in section 102(b)(1); and
            (2) other relevant entities, as determined by the Director, 
        including at least 1 representative of each of the following:
                    (A) State and local governmental green building 
                programs.
                    (B) Independent green building associations or 
                councils.
                    (C) Building experts, including architects, 
                material suppliers, and construction contractors.
                    (D) Security advisors focusing on national security 
                needs, natural disasters, and other dire emergency 
                situations.
                    (E) Children and adult environmental health 
                experts.
    (c) Meetings.--The Director shall establish a regular schedule of 
meetings for the Committee, which shall convene a minimum of 6 times 
each year.
    (d) Duties.--The Committee shall provide advice and expertise for 
use by the Director in carrying out the duties under this Act, 
including such recommendations relating to Federal activities carried 
out under sections 104 through 106 as are agreed to by a majority of 
the members of the Committee.
    (e) FACA Exemption.--The Committee shall not be subject to the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).

SEC. 104. PUBLIC OUTREACH.

    The Director, in coordination with the Committee, shall carry out 
public outreach to inform individuals and entities of the information 
and services available Government-wide by--
            (1) establishing and maintaining a national high-
        performance green building clearinghouse, including on the 
        Internet, that--
                    (A) identifies existing similar efforts and 
                coordinates activities of common interest; and
                    (B) provides information relating to high-
                performance green buildings, including hyperlinks to 
                Internet sites that describe the activities, 
                information, and resources of--
                            (i) the Federal Government;
                            (ii) State and local governments;
                            (iii) the private sector (including 
                        nongovernmental and nonprofit entities and 
                        organizations); and
                            (iv) international organizations;
            (2) identifying and recommending educational resources for 
        implementing high-performance green building practices, 
        including security and emergency benefits and practices;
            (3) providing access to technical assistance on using tools 
        and resources to make more cost-effective, energy-efficient, 
        health-protective, and environmentally beneficial decisions for 
        constructing high-performance green buildings, particularly 
        tools available to conduct life-cycle costing and life-cycle 
        assessment;
            (4) providing information on application processes for 
        certifying a high-performance green building, including 
        certification and commissioning;
            (5) providing technical information, market research, or 
        other forms of assistance or advice that would be useful in 
        planning and constructing high-performance green buildings; and
            (6) using such other methods as are determined by the 
        Director to be appropriate.

SEC. 105. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

    (a) Establishment.--The Director, in coordination with the 
Committee, shall--
            (1)(A) survey existing research and studies relating to 
        high-performance green buildings; and
            (B) coordinate activities of common interest;
            (2) develop and recommend a high-performance green building 
        research plan that--
                    (A) identifies information and research needs, 
                including the relationships between health, occupant 
                productivity, and each of--
                            (i) pollutant emissions from materials and 
                        products in the building;
                            (ii) natural day lighting;
                            (iii) ventilation choices and technologies;
                            (iv) heating, cooling, and system control 
                        choices and technologies;
                            (v) moisture control and mold;
                            (vi) maintenance, cleaning, and pest 
                        control activities;
                            (vii) acoustics; and
                            (viii) other issues relating to the health, 
                        comfort, productivity, and performance of 
                        occupants of the building; and
                    (B) promotes the development and dissemination of 
                high-performance green building measurement tools that, 
                at a minimum, may be used--
                            (i) to monitor and assess the life-cycle 
                        performance of facilities (including 
                        demonstration projects) built as high-
                        performance green buildings; and
                            (ii) to perform life-cycle assessments;
            (3) assist the budget and life-cycle costing functions of 
        the Office under section 106;
            (4) study and identify potential benefits of green 
        buildings relating to security, natural disaster, and emergency 
        needs of the Federal Government; and
            (5) support other research initiatives determined by the 
        Office.
    (b) Indoor Air Quality.--The Director, in consultation with the 
Committee, shall develop and implement a comprehensive indoor air 
quality program for all Federal facilities to ensure the safety of 
Federal workers and facility occupants--
            (1) during new construction and renovation of facilities; 
        and
            (2) in existing facilities.

SEC. 106. BUDGET AND LIFE-CYCLE COSTING AND CONTRACTING.

    (a) Establishment.--The Director, in coordination with the 
Committee, shall--
            (1) identify, review, and analyze current budget and 
        contracting practices that affect achievement of high-
        performance green buildings, including the identification of 
        barriers to green building life-cycle costing and budgetary 
        issues;
            (2) develop guidance and conduct training sessions with 
        budget specialists and contracting personnel from Federal 
        agencies and budget examiners to apply life-cycle cost criteria 
        to actual projects;
            (3) identify tools to aid life-cycle cost decisionmaking; 
        and
            (4) explore the feasibility of incorporating the benefits 
        of green buildings, such as security benefits, into a cost-
        budget analysis to aid in life-cycle costing for budget and 
        decision making processes.

SEC. 107. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title 
$4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2013, to remain 
available until expended.

               TITLE II--STRENGTHENING FEDERAL LEADERSHIP

SEC. 201. INCENTIVES.

    As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Director shall identify incentives to encourage the use of green 
buildings and related technology in the operations of the Federal 
Government, including through--
            (1) the provision of recognition awards; and
            (2) the maximum feasible retention of financial savings in 
        the annual budgets of Federal agencies for use in reinvesting 
        in future green building initiatives.

SEC. 202. FEDERAL PROCUREMENT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Director of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, 
in consultation with the Director and the Under Secretary of Defense 
for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, shall promulgate revisions 
of the applicable acquisition regulations, to take effect as of the 
date of promulgation of the revisions--
            (1) to direct any Federal procurement executives involved 
        in the acquisition, construction, or major renovation 
        (including contracting for the construction or major 
        renovation) of any facility--
                    (A) to employ integrated design principles;
                    (B) to improve site selection for environmental and 
                community benefits;
                    (C) to optimize building and systems energy 
                performance;
                    (D) to protect and conserve water;
                    (E) to enhance indoor environmental quality; and
                    (F) to reduce environmental impacts of materials 
                and waste flows; and
            (2) to direct Federal procurement executives involved in 
        leasing buildings, to give preference to the lease of 
        facilities that--
                    (A) are energy-efficient; and
                    (B) to the maximum extent practicable, have applied 
                contemporary high-performance and sustainable design 
                principles during construction or renovation.
    (b) Guidance.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
promulgation of the revised regulations under subsection (a), the 
Director shall issue guidance to all Federal procurement executives 
providing direction and instructions to renegotiate the design of 
proposed facilities, renovations for existing facilities, and leased 
facilities to incorporate improvements that are consistent with this 
section.

SEC. 203. FEDERAL GREEN BUILDING PERFORMANCE.

    (a) In General.--Not later than October 31 of each of the 2 fiscal 
years following the fiscal year in which this Act is enacted, and at 
such times thereafter as the Comptroller General of the United States 
determines to be appropriate, the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall, with respect to the fiscal years that have passed since 
the preceding report--
            (1) conduct an audit of the implementation of this Act; and
            (2) submit to the Office, the Committee, the Administrator, 
        and Congress a report describing the results of the audit.
    (b) Contents.--An audit under subsection (a) shall include a 
review, with respect to the period covered by the report under 
subsection (a)(2), of--
            (1) budget, life-cycle costing, and contracting issues, 
        using best practices identified by the Comptroller General of 
        the United States and heads of other agencies in accordance 
        with section 106;
            (2) the level of coordination among the Office, the Office 
        of Management and Budget, and relevant agencies;
            (3) the performance of the Office in carrying out the 
        implementation plan;
            (4) the design stage of high-performance green building 
        measures;
            (5) high-performance building data that were collected and 
        reported to the Office; and
            (6) such other matters as the Comptroller General of the 
        United States determines to be appropriate.
    (c) Consultation.--The Director shall consult with the Committee to 
enhance and assist the implementation of the Environmental Stewardship 
Scorecard announced at the White House Summit on Federal sustainable 
buildings in January 2006, to measure the implementation by each 
Federal agency of sustainable design and green building initiatives.

                    TITLE III--DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

SEC. 301. COORDINATION OF GOALS.

    (a) In General.--The Director shall establish guidelines to 
implement a demonstration project to contribute to the research goals 
of the Office.
    (b) Projects.--In accordance with guidelines established by the 
Director under subsection (a) and the duties of the Director described 
in title I, the Director shall carry out--
            (1) for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2014, 1 
        demonstration project in a Federal building selected by the 
        Director in accordance with relevant agencies and described in 
        subsection (c)(1), that--
                    (A) provides for the evaluation of the information 
                obtained through the conduct of projects and activities 
                under this Act; and
                    (B) achieves a platinum rating, as defined by the 
                Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Building 
                Rating System standard established by the United States 
                Green Building Council (or equivalent rating); and
            (2) no fewer than 4 demonstration projects at 4 
        universities, that, as competitively selected by the Director 
        in accordance with subsection (c)(2), have--
                    (A) appropriate research resources and relevant 
                projects to meet the goals of the demonstration project 
                established by the Office; and
                    (B) the ability--
                            (i) to serve as a model for high-
                        performance green building initiatives, 
                        including research and education;
                            (ii) to identify the most effective ways to 
                        use high-performance green building and 
                        landscape technologies to engage and educate 
                        undergraduate and graduate students;
                            (iii) to effectively implement a high-
                        performance green building education program 
                        for students and occupants;
                            (iv) to demonstrate the effectiveness of 
                        various high-performance technologies in each 
                        of the 4 climatic regions of the United States 
                        described in subsection (c)(2)(B); and
                            (v) to explore quantifiable and 
                        nonquantifiable beneficial impacts on public 
                        health and employee and student performance.
    (c) Criteria.--
            (1) Federal facilities.--With respect to the existing or 
        proposed Federal facility at which a demonstration project 
        under this section is conducted, the Federal facility shall--
                    (A) be an appropriate model for a project relating 
                to--
                            (i) the effectiveness of high-performance 
                        technologies;
                            (ii) analysis of materials, components, 
                        systems, and emergency operations in the 
                        building, and the impact of those materials, 
                        components, and systems, including the impact 
                        on the health of building occupants;
                            (iii) life-cycle costing and life-cycle 
                        assessment of building materials and systems; 
                        and
                            (iv) location and design that promote 
                        access to the Federal facility through walking, 
                        biking, and mass transit; and
                    (B) possess sufficient technological and 
                organizational adaptability.
            (2) Universities.--With respect to the 4 universities at 
        which a demonstration project under this section is conducted--
                    (A) the universities should be selected, after 
                careful review of all applications received containing 
                the required information, as determined by the 
                Director, based on--
                            (i) successful and established public-
                        private research and development partnerships;
                            (ii) demonstrated capabilities to construct 
                        or renovate buildings that meet high indoor 
                        environmental quality standards;
                            (iii) organizational flexibility;
                            (iv) technological adaptability;
                            (v) the demonstrated capacity of at least 1 
                        university to replicate lessons learned among 
                        nearby or sister universities, preferably by 
                        participation in groups or consortia that 
                        promote sustainability;
                            (vi) the demonstrated capacity of at least 
                        1 university to have officially-adopted, 
                        institution-wide ``green building'' guidelines 
                        for all campus building projects; and
                            (vii) the demonstrated capacity of at least 
                        1 university to have been recognized by similar 
                        institutions as a national leader in 
                        sustainability education and curriculum for 
                        students of the university; and
                    (B) each university shall be located in a different 
                climatic region of the United States, each of which 
                regions shall have, as determined by the Office--
                            (i) a hot, dry climate;
                            (ii) a hot, humid climate;
                            (iii) a cold climate; or
                            (iv) a temperate climate (including a 
                        climate with cold winters and humid summers).
    (d) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, and annually thereafter through September 30, 2014--
            (1) the Director shall submit to the Administrator a report 
        that describes the status of the demonstration projects; and
            (2) each University at which a demonstration project under 
        this section is conducted shall submit to the Administrator a 
        report that describes the status of the demonstration projects 
        under this section.

SEC. 302. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Federal Demonstration Project.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out the Federal demonstration project described 
in section 301(b)(1) $10,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2009 
through 2014, to remain available until expended.
    (b) University Demonstration Projects.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out the university demonstration projects 
described in section 301(b)(2) $10,000,000 for the period of fiscal 
years 2009 through 2014, to remain available until expended.
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