[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 59 (Wednesday, April 22, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H4610-H4612]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   GREEN ENERGY EDUCATION ACT OF 2009

  Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 957) to authorize higher education curriculum 
development and graduate training in advanced energy and green building 
technologies.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 957

       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 ``Green Energy Education Act 
     of 2009''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITION.

       For the purposes of this Act:
       (1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
     the National Science Foundation.
       (2) High performance building.--The term ``high performance 
     building'' has the meaning given that term in section 914(a) 
     of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16194(a)).
       (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of Energy.

     SEC. 3. GRADUATE TRAINING IN ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

       (a) Funding.--In carrying out research, development, 
     demonstration, and commercial application activities 
     authorized for the Department of Energy, the Secretary may 
     contribute funds to the National Science Foundation for the 
     Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship 
     program to support projects that enable graduate education 
     related to such activities.
       (b) Consultation.--The Director shall consult with the 
     Secretary when preparing solicitations and awarding grants 
     for projects described in subsection (a).

     SEC. 4. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE BUILDING 
                   DESIGN.

       (a) Funding.--In carrying out advanced energy technology 
     research, development, demonstration, and commercial 
     application activities authorized for the Department of 
     Energy related to high performance buildings, the Secretary 
     may contribute funds to curriculum development activities at 
     the National Science Foundation for the purpose of improving 
     undergraduate or graduate interdisciplinary engineering and 
     architecture education related to the design and construction 
     of high performance buildings, including development of 
     curricula, of laboratory activities, of training practicums, 
     or of design projects. A primary goal of curriculum 
     development activities supported under this section shall be 
     to improve the ability of engineers, architects, landscape 
     architects, and planners to work together on the 
     incorporation of advanced energy technologies during the 
     design and construction of high performance buildings.
       (b) Consultation.--The Director shall consult with the 
     Secretary when preparing solicitations and awarding grants 
     for projects described in subsection (a).
       (c) Priority.--In awarding grants with respect to which the 
     Secretary has contributed funds under this section, the 
     Director shall give priority to applications from 
     departments, programs, or centers of a school of engineering 
     that are partnered with schools, departments, or programs of 
     design, architecture, landscape architecture, and city, 
     regional, or urban planning.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Gordon) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mario Diaz-
Balart) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 957, the bill now 
under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Tennessee?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Today, I rise in support of H.R. 957, the Green Energy Education Act 
of 2009. First, I would like to thank Mr. McCaul for his leadership on 
this legislation. This bill authorizes the Department of Energy to 
contribute funds to the National Science Foundation's successful 
Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship program, known 
as IGERT. IGERT awards prepare doctoral students by integrating 
research and education in innovative ways that are tailored to the 
unique requirements of newly emerging interdisciplinary fields and new 
career options.
  This bill also authorizes the Department of Energy's high-performance 
building technology programs to contribute to the National Science 
Foundation's ongoing curriculum development activities with the goal of 
improving the ability of engineers and architects to design and 
construct high-performance buildings.
  In summary, this bill addresses a critical need to provide resources 
to universities to update their curricula and research efforts in 
alternative energy and high-performance buildings, and it improves the 
coordination between the Department of Energy and the National Science 
Foundation in achieving this goal.
  I am pleased to support H.R. 957, the Green Energy Education Act of 
2009. Once again, I want to commend Mr. McCaul for this important 
legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
support H.R. 957, and I yield myself as much time as I might consume.
  I also urge my colleagues to support this bill, H.R. 957, the Green 
Energy Education Act of 2009, introduced by my distinguished colleague, 
Mr. McCaul of Texas.
  This is a good piece of legislation that, by the way, passed in the 
110th Congress, but the Senate did not take it up before adjournment. 
Simply put, this measure encourages the Department of Energy to work 
with the National Science Foundation to help develop the next 
generation of engineers and architects to work effectively together to 
produce buildings that incorporate the latest in energy-efficient 
technologies.
  Oftentimes, energy-efficient buildings are not being constructed, not 
because building professionals don't want to do it or think it's a bad 
idea, but primarily because they just don't even know or are not aware 
of all of the technology that's available, so this measure is intended 
to close that gap.

[[Page H4611]]

  I also want to commend Mr. McCaul for his fine work on this very 
important bill.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I would reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. We have no other speakers at this time, and 
I would reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I would now like to 
yield as much time as he might consume to the sponsor of this 
legislation, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul).
  Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Florida 
for yielding.
  I also want to thank the chairman of the Science and Technology 
Committee for his dedication and strong bipartisan leadership on this 
committee, which is so important, and for allowing my bill to go out of 
committee once again and come to the House floor. As the gentleman 
mentioned, it passed unanimously last Congress out of the House. I hope 
it does the same this Congress, and I hope the Senate will act on it 
this time.
  Like many other Members of Congress, I am concerned about America's 
dependence on foreign sources of energy, and the National Academy's 
``Rising above the Gathering Storm'' report has echoed the calls of 
many in the academic and business communities for a greater need to 
recruit and develop scientific and engineering talent to work on 
solving these problems. Increasing energy independence and decreasing 
the harmful effects of energy production and use are clearly areas of 
long-term national need. Our reliance on imported energy only serves to 
increase our vulnerability to external events and to the actions of 
regimes that are, in many cases, openly hostile to the United States.
  One of the ways that we can reduce the need for energy imports is to 
use our energy more efficiently. Buildings consume more energy than any 
other sector of the economy, including industry and transportation. 
According to the United States Department of Energy, American buildings 
consume 39 percent of our Nation's primary energy and 70 percent of our 
electricity. However, energy-efficient building practices are still at 
the fringes of the building sector, in part, because of a lack of 
awareness about energy-efficient technologies and design practices 
among building professionals.
  That is why I introduced the Green Energy Education Act. This 
legislation authorizes the Department of Energy to partner with the 
National Science Foundation to support graduate education and 
curriculum development to advance DOE's broad energy-technology 
development mission. Working through NSF, DOE will help develop the 
next generation of engineers and architects to produce buildings, 
incorporating the latest energy-efficient buildings and technologies.
  In order to reduce the likelihood of duplicative and wasteful 
programs, this bill allows for the Department of Energy and the 
National Science Foundation to combine their efforts to find workable 
solutions to the issues surrounding building efficiency that can be 
transferred to the marketplace. Specifically, H.R. 957 will authorize 
DOE's Office of Science and Applied Energy Technology Programs to 
contribute funds to NSF's successful graduate education and research 
program.
  This bill also authorizes the DOE to contribute to NSF's curriculum 
development activities in order to improve the ability of engineers and 
architects to design and to construct more efficient and durable 
buildings.
  So let me, once again, thank the chairman for allowing this to come 
forward to the House floor, and I urge my colleagues to support this 
important step towards increasing America's energy independence.
  Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, we have no further speakers, 
and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I do want to just 
yield myself 30 seconds.
  I also want to thank the chairman of the committee. The chairman of 
the committee is always willing to work with all members of his 
committee to make sure that he gets the finest legislation possible. He 
goes through the regular process, something that, unfortunately, is not 
done as much as it should be.
  So, again, I would just like to take these seconds to thank the 
chairman of the committee for working with all of his committee and for 
always being open. His door is always open.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I would yield back the remaining part of our 
time.
  Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. Well, let me first thank my friend for those 
compliments, and let me ask that you hold me to those compliments. We 
need to continue to run the committee that way.
  In conclusion, let me also thank, once again, my friend from Texas, 
Mr. McCaul, for his leadership and for bringing this issue before us. 
We passed it last year. We're going to pass it again this year. We both 
need to work together to get this through the other body, and I look 
forward to working with you.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of 
H.R. 957, ``Green Energy Education Act.'' H.R. 957 will provide for the 
promotion of graduate education related to energy research, advanced 
energy technology research, and development for high performance 
buildings to the National Science Foundation for curriculum development 
to improve undergraduate or graduate interdisciplinary engineering and 
architecture education related to the design and construction of such 
buildings. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.
  As a representative of the 18th Congressional District of Texas, 
which includes the energy capital of the world, Houston, I am 
especially pleased to support this bill. This bill fosters education in 
green energy, which increasingly is becoming a viable alternative to 
petroleum.
  Today, we as a Global Community, take the time out to appreciate the 
natural resources our planet has provided for us. It is also a day we 
examine better ways that we can use these resources for the advancement 
of mankind and the preservation of the world.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 957 provides an opportunity to learn about the 
positive actions that we can take to improve energy efficiency; to 
develop safe, renewable energy sources; to design goods that are 
durable, reusable, and recyclable; and to eliminate the production of 
harmful wastes while protecting our environment and encouraging 
sustainable development throughout the world.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 957 will allow for the leading authorities to teach 
and conduct the research on energy consumption throughout our nation. 
The research and studies are highly detailed, carefully constructed to 
be statistically representative of the entire population, and are 
indispensable analysis and policy planning. In gauging the success of 
any energy efficiency program, data on consumption, price, and 
product--both prior to and after the research program's 
implementation--are needed to calculate the change in green use, cost, 
and product purchase tendencies. By affording these research programs 
the necessary funding, classes will assist policy planners to better 
identify the highest-value products to target in designing their 
programs.
  Along with rising gas prices, weak economic growth, continued 
environmental warnings and scientific studies pointing to global 
warming, many Americans continue to worry about the state of energy 
security in the world. Adding green space in city and urban areas, 
investing in alternative energy and making sure we participate in 
recycling and conserving our planet's resources are just some ways that 
we can preserve our wonderful planet, however, our federal government 
must take the lead in preserving our planet.
  I have long been a proponent of green education. For example, during 
the 110th Congress, I successfully offered amendments to the 
Comprehensive Energy Independence bill that was introduced late last 
year and voted out of the House.
  Specifically, I offered amendments that would provide scholarships 
for post-secondary study in ethanol, wind, solar energy, and other 
green alternatives to petroleum. I have also offered an amendment to 
establish Energy Centers of Excellence, which would provide a 
consortium of HBCU's, Hispanic serving institutions, tribal 
universities, and majority serving institutions to develop curriculum 
and programs in green energy. Moreover, my amendments provide 
scholarships, and concerns of study for minorities to study green 
energy. Thus, I have long been a proponent of the type of education 
requirements that this bill requires. Indeed, I count myself as one on 
the forefront of this cause.
  This Congress understands the energy concerns of the American people 
and we continue to work to ensure this nation moves in a new direction 
to achieve energy independence and energy security.
  Mr. Speaker, I call on all Americans, along with the rest of the 
global community to come together and continue to produce practical yet 
creative ways to conserve energy around the world. Let us continue to 
strive towards a

[[Page H4612]]

world that respects the natural resources that this planet has provided 
and use them wisely.
  I thank my colleague, Representative Michael McCaul, of Texas, for 
introducing this important legislation, to ensure that we preserve our 
most treasured resource, and I urge my colleagues to join me in 
supporting this H.R. 957.
  Mr. GORDON of Tennessee. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Gordon) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 957.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the 
yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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