[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 112 (Friday, August 3, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1568]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              SECURING AMERICA'S FUTURE ENERGY ACT OF 2001

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                               speech of

                   HON. CHARLES W. ``CHIP'' PICKERING

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, August 1, 2001

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4) to 
     enhance energy conservation, research and development and to 
     provide for security and diversity in the energy supply for 
     the American people, and for other purposes.

  Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased that the House is 
considering H.R. 4 today. This legislation is the first step in the 
development of a comprehensive national energy strategy.
  Included in H.R. 4 is an amendment I offered at the full committee 
markup to have the Department of Energy conduct a study and review of 
the Federal Energy Savings Performance Contract Program. This program 
is an existing and innovative program that provides Federal agencies 
the opportunity to fund the installation of necessary energy efficiency 
measures. As the single largest consumer of energy, our Federal 
government facilities offer a significant opportunity to help us meet 
one of our national energy goals--increased efficiency. Our experience 
has shown that many of these government facilities have aging and 
energy inefficient equipment that require modernization in order to 
allow them to operate at peak efficiency.
  We have learned over the past 10 years in the implementation of this 
program, like so many other government programs, that ``one size does 
not fit all.'' I believe that there are barriers and obstacles in 
current law and regulations, including some unnecessary red tape that 
prevents some Federal agencies from participating in the program. If 
flexibility is increased, this program could be used more effectively 
by Federal agencies. It is important that we take a look at the 
program, determine what barriers or obstacles exist, and implement 
appropriate changes. This provision provides for a 6-month review, 
report to Congress, and requires the Department to implement 
appropriate changes to increase program flexibility and effectiveness. 
As part of this report and review, it is our intention that the 
Department of Energy will consult with outside parties that have 
experience participating and working within the program as well as 
other Federal agencies.
  I am hopeful that the end result of this effort will keep us on the 
road to increasing our nation's energy efficiency, and that the Federal 
government will indeed be a large contributor to this effort.

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