[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 67 (Wednesday, April 25, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5092-S5093]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. LANDRIEU:
  S. 1207. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to 
increase and extend the energy efficient commercial buildings 
deduction; to the Committee on Finance.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation 
entitled Giving Reductions to Energy Efficient New Buildings, the GREEN 
Buildings Act. This bill will extend the energy efficient building tax 
deduction from December 31, 2008 until December 31, 2013. This bill 
will also increase the tax deduction from $1.80 to $2.25 per square 
foot.
  Our Nation is diligently searching to find the long-term solutions to 
global warming and, how to reduce our carbon foot print. As Congress 
continues to search for these solutions, we must continue to provide 
incentives to those who have the knowledge and resources to make an 
impact now. Congress understands the impact `green buildings' have on 
reducing our Nation's energy consumption and carbon emissions. That is 
why in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 we created a tax deduction for 
energy efficient buildings. Unfortunately, that deduction will expire 
on December 31, 2008. Congress must not allow this deduction to expire. 
Building energy efficient buildings is one of the key things being done 
right now to reduce carbon dioxide emissions as well as reduce our 
Nation's energy consumption.
  Commercial buildings are a substantial part of our Nation's energy 
consumption and can be a key to reducing demand for electricity. These 
buildings are responsible for 40 percent of total U.S. energy 
consumption, they use 70 percent of the nation's electricity and they 
are accountable for 40 percent of the U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. 
They are a major piece to enabling our Nation's energy independence and 
to solving the global warming puzzle and Congress must not overlook 
them or leave them out.
  The average life-span of a commercial building is 75 years. We must 
use our resources, to build energy-efficient buildings today and make 
these buildings truly ready for the future. One way to do so is to 
provide incentives to those who are willing to step up to the plate and 
accept the challenge.
  Another benefit from building energy efficient or green buildings is 
that they also improve our health. Americans spend about 90 percent of 
their time indoors. The concentration of indoor pollutants is sometimes 
10 to 100 times more than outdoor pollutants increasing the frequency 
of illnesses and ailments.
  Researchers have proven that employees who are exposed to more 
sunlight are more productive workers. They have proven that by changing 
the carpets on the floor and paint on the walls workers have less 
respiratory ailments. These are simple things that can be done to 
increase employees' health and their productivity and our nation's 
overall success.
  Our Nation is doing a good job of researching and developing new 
technologies to reduce our dependence on foreign energy and to combat 
global warming, and Congress has helped move these technologies along 
by providing incentives in the way of tax deductions. Unfortunately, 
many of these incentives have an expiration date that expires too soon 
to provide the help it is intended to provide. Congress needs to keep 
these incentives intact and provide stability so companies and 
investors can be assured of their investment. In turn, maintaining 
these incentives will advance our Nation's energy independence and 
reduce our carbon dioxide emissions--two very important goals. I urge 
my fellow Senators to support this sensible and much needed tax 
incentive. We don't have another 75 years to wait.

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