[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 548 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 548

  Expressing the sense of the Senate that high performance buildings 
improve the quality of life for millions of individuals, produce a more 
  resilient and sustainable world for current and future generations, 
  reduce operating costs, and improve the productivity, comfort, and 
 health of occupants, and designating the week of June 11 through June 
            15, 2018, as ``High Performance Building Week''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 14, 2018

Mr. Cardin (for himself, Mr. Gardner, Mrs. Capito, and Mr. Van Hollen) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                            on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the Senate that high performance buildings 
improve the quality of life for millions of individuals, produce a more 
  resilient and sustainable world for current and future generations, 
  reduce operating costs, and improve the productivity, comfort, and 
 health of occupants, and designating the week of June 11 through June 
            15, 2018, as ``High Performance Building Week''.

Whereas the term ``high performance building'' is defined in section 401 of the 
        Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17061) as ``a 
        building that integrates and optimizes on a life cycle basis all major 
        high performance attributes, including energy conservation, environment, 
        safety, security, durability, accessibility, cost-benefit, productivity, 
        sustainability, functionality, and operational considerations'';
Whereas, because individuals spend approximately 90 percent of their time 
        indoors and buildings are the single largest consumer of energy and 
        water in the United States, built environments have a vast impact on 
        virtually all aspects of life and national security in the United 
        States;
Whereas the United States benefits technologically, economically, and 
        environmentally from innovative technologies developed for use in high 
        performance buildings;
Whereas research and programs that are supported by government entities and 
        private industry and relate to high performance buildings benefit the 
        United States and individuals in the United States; and
Whereas investing in resilient and robust building systems protects individuals 
        and businesses in the United States from the impacts of man-made 
        disasters and natural disasters, such as hurricanes, snowstorms, 
        tornadoes, wildland fires, floods, and earthquakes: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) designates the week of June 11 through June 15, 2018, 
        as ``High Performance Building Week''; and
            (2) supports efforts to--
                    (A) improve the performance of existing and future 
                buildings through--
                            (i) the adoption of best practices and 
                        voluntary consensus standards relating to 
                        commercial and residential buildings; and
                            (ii) participation by interested parties 
                        in--
                                    (I) government programs, including 
                                those at the Office of Energy 
                                Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the 
                                Department of Energy;
                                    (II) public-private partnerships; 
                                and
                                    (III) private initiatives;
                    (B) create awareness of the beneficial impacts that 
                high performance buildings have on communities, 
                including reductions in operating costs, improvements 
                in the health and productivity of occupants of high 
                performance buildings, and enhancements in community 
                resiliency;
                    (C) encourage interested parties to engage in 
                dialogues on innovative policies and programs relating 
                to the build environment that address needs relating to 
                resiliency, workforce development, and energy and water 
                efficiency;
                    (D) support investment in research and programs 
                that incentivize investments in high performance 
                commercial and residential buildings, as investment in 
                high performance buildings is in the overall interests 
                of the United States; and
                    (E) invest in training and education for, and 
                celebrate the work of, engineers, architects, builders, 
                code officials, tradespeople, design professionals, 
                laborers, and others in the construction industry who 
                work to advance high performance buildings.
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