[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15079]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        RECOGNIZING THIS WEEK AS HIGH-PERFORMANCE BUILDING WEEK

  (Mr. CARNAHAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. CARNAHAN. Mr. Speaker, last week, the House passed House 
Resolution 492, recognizing this week as High-Performance Building 
Week. The resolution aims to provide greater public awareness about the 
benefits of high-performance buildings, and it works to increase 
education about the impact buildings have on our environment.
  Each year, our homes, offices, schools, and other buildings consume 
70 percent of our electricity, 60 percent of all raw materials, and 
they emit 40 percent of all CO2 emissions in the U.S. By 
designing and building high-performance buildings, we reduce energy 
consumption and our carbon footprint. We save both water and raw 
materials. We save demolition and construction debris from going into 
landfills. Most importantly, high-performance building construction 
creates good-paying jobs that give workers the valuable skills they 
need to excel in a clean energy economy.
  It is my hope that Members will use this week to highlight the 
importance that buildings have on our environment and for Congress to 
continue to support future research, development and the deployment of 
high-performance building technologies.

                          ____________________