[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1259 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1259

    To increase the use and research of sustainable building design 
                  technology, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 1, 2007

    Mr. Smith of Washington (for himself, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. 
 Blumenauer, Mr. Gilchrest, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Dicks, Mr. Serrano, Mrs. 
   Capps, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Markey, Mrs. 
  Tauscher, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Carnahan, Mr. Ruppersberger, Mr. George 
 Miller of California, and Mr. Inslee) introduced the following bill; 
   which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in 
addition to the Committee on Science and Technology, 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 increase the use and research of sustainable building design 
                  technology, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``High-Performance Buildings Act of 
2007''.

SEC. 2. INCLUDING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN HOUSING STRATEGY.

    Section 105(b) of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing 
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12705(b)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (19);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (20) and 
        inserting ``; and'';
            (3) and by inserting after paragraph (20) the following:
            ``(21) describe the jurisdiction's strategies to encourage 
        sustainable development for affordable housing, as measured 
        by--
                    ``(A) greater energy efficiency;
                    ``(B) increased conservation and reuse of 
                resources;
                    ``(C) more effective use of existing 
                infrastructure;
                    ``(D) use of building materials and methods that 
                are healthier for residents of the housing; and
                    ``(E) such other criteria as the Secretary 
                determines are in accordance with the purposes of this 
                paragraph.''.

SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM TO INCREASE SUSTAINABLE LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY 
              DEVELOPMENT CAPACITY.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may 
make grants to nonprofit organizations to use for any of the following 
purposes:
            (1) Training, educating, supporting, or advising an 
        eligible community development organization in improving energy 
        efficiency, resource conservation and reuse, and effective use 
        of existing infrastructure in affordable housing and economic 
        development activities in low-income communities.
            (2) Providing loans, grants, or predevelopment assistance 
        to eligible community development organizations to carry out 
        energy efficiency improvements, resource conservation and 
        reuse, and effective use of existing infrastructure in 
        affordable housing and economic development activities in low-
        income communities.
            (3) Such other purposes as the Secretary determines are in 
        accordance with the purposes of this subsection.
    (b) Application Requirement.--To be eligible for a grant under this 
section, a nonprofit organization shall prepare and submit to the 
Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing 
such information as the Secretary may require.
    (c) Matching Requirement.--A grant made under this section may not 
exceed the amount that the nonprofit organization receiving the grant 
certifies, to the Secretary, will be provided (in cash or in kind) from 
non-governmental sources to carry out the purposes for which the grant 
is made.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``nonprofit organization'' has the meaning 
        given such term in section 104 of the Cranston-Gonzalez 
        National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12704).
            (2) The term ``eligible community development 
        organization'' means--
                    (A) a unit of general local government (as defined 
                in section 104 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National 
                Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12704));
                    (B) a community housing development organization 
                (as defined in section 104 of the Cranston-Gonzalez 
                National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12704)); or
                    (C) a tribal government (as defined in section 421 
                of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 
                658)).
            (3) The term ``low-income community'' means a census tract 
        in which 50 percent or more of the households have an income 
        which is less than 80 percent of the greater of--
                    (A) the area median gross income for such year for 
                the area in which such census tract is located; or
                    (B) the median gross income for such year for the 
                State in which such census tract is located.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $10,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012.

SEC. 4. SUSTAINABLE BUILDING INSTITUTE.

    The National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1861 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 17. SUSTAINABLE BUILDING INSTITUTE.

    ``(a) Establishment.--There is established within the Foundation a 
Sustainable Building Institute (hereinafter in this section referred to 
as the `Institute').
    ``(b) Duties and Functions.--
            ``(1) Undertaking and supporting research and other 
        activities.--The Institute shall undertake, or support through 
        providing grants, loans, or other forms of assistance--
                    ``(A) research regarding the relationships among 
                indoor environmental quality, human health, and human 
                productivity; and
                    ``(B) research, development, and commercial 
                application of energy efficiency and renewable energy 
                technologies for buildings, including--
                            ``(i) water heating systems and lighting 
                        systems;
                            ``(ii) building insulation technology;
                            ``(iii) technology and methods for 
                        improving the cost effectiveness of fuel cells; 
                        and
                            ``(iv) technology and methods for reducing 
                        the installation costs of solar photovoltaic 
                        energy systems.
            ``(2) Consultation to avoid duplication.--The Institute 
        shall consult with other Federal agencies to avoid duplication 
        of activities authorized under this subsection.''.
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