[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 12 (Monday, January 23, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H566-H568]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 POWER AND SECURITY SYSTEMS (PASS) ACT

  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 511) to provide for consideration of the extension under the 
Energy Policy and Conservation Act of nonapplication of No-Load Mode 
energy efficiency standards to certain security

[[Page H567]]

or life safety alarms or surveillance systems, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 511

       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 ``Power And Security Systems 
     (PASS) Act''.

     SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF NONAPPLICATION OF NO-LOAD MODE ENERGY 
                   EFFICIENCY STANDARD TO CERTAIN SECURITY OR LIFE 
                   SAFETY ALARM OR SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS.

       (a) Section 325(u)(3)(D)(ii) of the Energy Policy and 
     Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6295(u)(3)(D)(ii)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``2015'' each place it appears and 
     inserting ``2021''; and
       (2) by striking ``2017'' and inserting ``2023''.
       (b) Section 325(u)(3)(E) of the Energy Policy and 
     Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6295(u)(3)(E)) is amended--
       (1) in clause (ii), by striking ``July 1, 2017,'' and 
     inserting ``the effective date of the amendment under 
     subparagraph (D)(ii)''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(iv) Treatment in rule.--In the rule under subparagraph 
     (D)(ii) and subsequent amendments the Secretary may treat 
     some or all external power supplies designed to be connected 
     to a security or life safety alarm or surveillance system as 
     a separate product class or may extend the nonapplication 
     under clause (ii).''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Upton) and the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. DeGette) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.


                             General Leave

  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 511. I would note that 
this is our colleague Mr. Welch's bill that moved through the regular 
process through the Committee on Energy and Commerce last year. It 
received extensive bipartisan support. I am again glad to move this 
bill today.
  External power supplies, EPS, are used with a wide variety of 
devices, and we have learned from experience that the Federal energy 
efficiency standards for them are not compatible with some of these 
applications. In particular, we need an exemption from these rules for 
security and life safety alarms and surveillance systems. This bill, 
H.R. 511, the Power And Security Systems (PASS) Act, provides a 
targeted exemption that allows these critical systems to stay on the 
market.
  Devices like home security alarms or fire detection systems need to 
be on 24/7, but the 2007 energy law requiring energy efficiency 
standards for external power supplies did not allow for this. 
Subsequent legislation created an exemption for external power supplies 
used with these always-on devices. This exemption will end on July 1 of 
this year. This bill extends that exemption until 2023.
  The result of the bill would be that these important security systems 
will continue to be available, preserving the jobs of those who make 
them and certainly the safety of those who use them. As with H.R. 518, 
the other external power supply bill that we are addressing today, 
these provisions enjoyed strong bipartisan and bicameral support when 
they were added to last year's energy bill. They also passed under 
suspension last year.
  I urge my colleagues to once again vote ``yes'' on this measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 511, the Power And Security Systems, or 
PASS, Act. As Chairman Upton said, this bill will provide an important 
technical exemption for certain security and life safety products from 
energy efficiency standards set forth in the Energy Independence and 
Security Act of 2007.
  As Mr. Upton said, a provision in the law increased the energy 
efficiency requirements for battery chargers and external power 
supplies, something which this side of the aisle very strongly 
supported. However, the provision also mistakenly included security and 
life safety products and required that they be manufactured with a 
standby mode despite being products that are inherently always on.
  Without providing this correction, the security industry will need to 
spend millions of dollars to comply with an energy standard that will 
yield no energy savings and could cost jobs, which, of course, was 
never the original intent of the law.
  I am pleased that my colleagues Representatives Welch and Brooks have 
reintroduced the bill, which the House passed last year but the Senate 
failed to move before the end of the last Congress.
  This is a commonsense and consensus fix to a simple problem. The 
language was developed by both industry and efficiency advocates, with 
technical assistance from the Department of Energy. It should come as 
no surprise that this bill enjoys broad support from the security 
industry and energy efficiency advocates. I urge all of my colleagues 
to support it.
  I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Vermont 
(Mr. Welch).
  Mr. WELCH. I thank my colleagues for their support, the former 
chairman of the committee and now chair of the Subcommittee on Energy. 
He is a very important person over there, and there are no words I 
could convey that would meet the reputation of Mr. Upton. I thank him 
and Ms. DeGette very much.
  They have said a lot of the specific content of this bill. This is a 
situation where Congress passed a good law. There was a provision in it 
that needed to be corrected, and, lo and behold, Congress is correcting 
that provision. It is about these security devices that obviously can't 
operate on no-power mode. They have got to be on. When the bad guys 
come in, we have got to be watching. That is really what this is all 
about.
  It is a combination of the bipartisan commitment that we have had to 
energy efficiency, especially last year. I do give Mr. Upton a lot of 
credit for this. We have had a lot of debates in this Congress about 
climate change, about the science, and aside from--we don't need to get 
into that--to embrace as we have in a bipartisan way, there are 
enormous benefits to efficiency every single place we can find it.
  This efficiency bill originally was applying to all these devices to 
put them in no-load mode. That was cutting down on use of electricity. 
It was cutting down on carbon emissions. It was saving people money. 
But the no-load obviously couldn't apply to security devices.
  Last year, Mr. Pompeo, when he was a Congressman, supported this, and 
now that he is going to be our leader in the CIA, he knows you have got 
to keep that watching device on when the bad guys are lurking around.
  We are back this year. One of our first bills to be passed and 
hopefully signed by the President is the extension of the correction 
that we made sometime ago. I am delighted to be here with my colleagues 
in support of this legislation, getting this House of Representatives 
off to a constructive start.
  Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I urge passage 
of the bill.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I just again urge my colleagues to support 
this good bipartisan bill. I appreciate the kind words always by Mr. 
Welch. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 511, the 
``Power and Security Systems Act of 2017, which will revise energy 
conservation standards for devices operating in standby mode.
  In the early 1970s, I recall, as many of my colleagues do, the impact 
to our nation's economy when OPEC nations withheld oil from the United 
States causing one of the greatest peace-time energy shortages in 
United States history.
  One of the remedial steps taken by the Carter Administration was the 
promulgation of regulations that required large appliances and 
equipment that used electricity to default to a power down mode when 
not in use.
  Today, we take for granted that machines power down when not in use, 
but this one change in energy policy over the last 4o years has saved 
taxpayers, which includes businesses and private homes, billions of 
dollars in energy costs.

[[Page H568]]

  This was only one policy solution that was used to reduce our 
nation's dependence on foreign oil so that energy could go to vital 
services like fuel for electricity generation, gasoline, heating fuels, 
and diesel oil.
  H.R. 511, the bill before us would extend energy conservation to 
digital technology that can operate in standby mode.
  Most digital device technology manufactures already provide sleep 
mode on their devices to assist their users in conserving power on 
cellphones, smartphones, MP3 players, e-book readers, as well as 
desktop and laptop computers.
  Today, 68 percent of U.S. adults own a smartphone, up from 35 percent 
in 2011, and tablet computer ownership has edged up to 45 percent among 
adults, according to newly released survey data from the Pew Research 
Center.
  Considering not just smartphones, but all types of mobile phones, Pew 
notes that cellphones continue to top of the list.
  Roughly nine-in-ten American adults or 92 percent own a mobile phone 
of some kind.
  Although these mobile devices are ubiquitous today, the share of 
adults who own one has risen substantially since 2004.
  Smartphone ownership is nearing the saturation point with some 
groups: 1. 86 percent of those ages 18-29; 2. 83 percent of those ages 
30-49; and 3. 87 percent of those living in households earning $75,000 
and up annually own smartphones.
  These facts highlight the importance of energy conservation for 
mobile communication users.
  The battery life for these devices is limited and without power they 
are of no use to the user.
  This bill will help users remain connected as long as possible 
because the energy consumption on their cellphones and other digital 
devices will be minimized when they are not in use.
  Energy conservation will also assist consumers during times when 
power outages may occur due to weather or other electricity disruption.
  The longer power life for cellphones will benefit consumers by 
reducing the amount of electricity needed to recharge their personal 
devices.
  This bill will also benefit businesses that often have many computers 
that when in use can consume electricity if left on after business 
hours--especially over weekends.
  For these reasons, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 
511.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 511.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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