[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 12 (Monday, January 26, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S473]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 147. Mrs. SHAHEEN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
to amendment SA 2 proposed by Ms. Murkowski (for herself, Mr. Hoeven, 
Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Risch, Mr. Lee, Mr. Flake, Mr. Daines, Mr. Manchin, 
Mr. Cassidy, Mr. Gardner, Mr. Portman, Mr. Alexander, and Mrs. Capito) 
to the bill S. 1, to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline; which was 
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       After section 2, insert the following:

     SECTION __. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING GREEN BUILDING 
                   PROGRAMS.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) The U.S. building sector consumes nearly 40 percent of 
     the nation's energy.
       (2) Investments in building efficiency are among the most 
     cost-effective, energy-saving measures the federal government 
     can deploy to save money for taxpayers, families and 
     businesses, grow the domestic economy, create jobs, reduce 
     emissions and make the United States more energy secure.
       i. The State Energy Program converts every dollar of 
     federal finding into $7.22 in energy cost savings, according 
     to a study by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The study also 
     found that for every $1 of State Energy Program federal 
     funding, the program leverages $10.71 in state and non-
     federal funds.
       ii. The Weatherization Assistance Program saves low-income 
     families up to 22.9 percent on their home energy costs.
       iii. From 2009 to 2011, the Federal Energy Management 
     Program arranged energy savings performance contracts that 
     leveraged almost $1.2 billion in private-sector investment to 
     save the federal government and taxpayers more than $3.5 
     billion in energy and water costs.
       iv. A 2012 analysis of federal appliance and equipment 
     efficiency standards prepared by the American Council for an 
     Energy Efficient Economy and the Appliance Standards 
     Awareness Project found that federal efficiency standards 
     already established would save consumers about $27 billion in 
     2010, increasing to $61 billion in 2025.
       (3) Federal building energy efficiency programs related to 
     the construction and operations and maintenance of buildings 
     play a key role in cost-effectively reducing energy and water 
     waste in both the private and public sector.
       (4) Reducing energy and water use in buildings requires a 
     network of federal programs that strategically target 
     different segments of the diverse building sector and use a 
     variety of approaches.
       (5) The Government Accountability Office report, entitled 
     ``2012 Annual Report: Opportunities to Reduce Duplication, 
     Overlap and Fragmentation, Achieve Savings, and Enhance 
     Revenue'' recommends enhanced coordination between agencies 
     to increase effectiveness of complimentary programs. This 
     report did not find any specific instances of program 
     duplication and it did not recommend the elimination of any 
     green building programs.
       (b) Sense of Congress--It is the sense of Congress that--
       1. The federal government successfully employs a variety of 
     federal green building programs to address the complex 
     challenge of reducing energy and water waste in buildings.
       2. Federal green building programs save U.S. families, 
     taxpayers and businesses energy and money, boost domestic job 
     creation and strengthen the U.S. economy.
       3. The federal government should encourage enhanced 
     coordination between agencies, State and local governments, 
     tribes and the private-sector to increase continued 
     effectiveness and avoid unnecessary duplication of federal 
     green building programs.
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