[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 155 (Wednesday, December 5, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S7454]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        GREEN BUILDING STANDARDS

  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I would like to thank Senator Wicker for 
bringing attention to the need for the Department of Defense, and all 
Federal agencies, to include American-made wood products in green 
building standards and rating systems.
  I would also like to express my continued support for Federal 
Government measures designed to spur the design and construction of 
high-performance green buildings.
  However, I am concerned that discouraging certain wood building 
products and materials from use in Federal buildings because they do 
not comply with the LEED standard but are otherwise acceptable for U.S. 
building projects, may undermine the Federal Government's energy 
efficiency goals.
  Wood products are among the most ``green'' of all building materials.
  With the green building market estimated to reach as high as $140 
billion by 2013, securing a strong place for wood is essential to the 
wood products industry's future growth.
  Wood is an ideal green building material because it is renewable, 
stores carbon that reduces greenhouse gases, and is energy efficient.
  There are several green building rating systems being used by Federal 
agencies and the private marketplace now, and the competition among 
these systems has resulted in improvements in all of the green building 
standards. Some of these rating systems recognize the benefits of 
American-made wood products in their scoring system.
  It is important that the Department of Defense, General Services 
Administration and other Federal agencies ensure that multiple green 
building standards be considered for the design and construction of 
Federal buildings.
  I believe the best approach is to permit the marketplace to decide 
which rating system is best suited for each project and Congress should 
encourage all of the rating systems to compete for government 
contracts.

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