[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3692-3700]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               ENERGY EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2014

  Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2126) to facilitate better alignment, cooperation, and best 
practices between commercial real estate landlords and tenants 
regarding energy efficiency in buildings, and for other purposes, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2126

       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 ``Energy Efficiency 
     Improvement Act of 2014''.

                       TITLE I--BETTER BUILDINGS

     SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``Better Buildings Act of 
     2014''.

     SEC. 102. ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN FEDERAL AND OTHER BUILDINGS.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
     Administrator of General Services.
       (2) Cost-effective energy efficiency measure.--The term 
     ``cost-effective energy efficiency measure'' means any 
     building product, material, equipment, or service, and the 
     installing, implementing, or operating thereof, that provides 
     energy savings in an amount that is not less than the cost of 
     such installing, implementing, or operating.
       (3) Cost-effective water efficiency measure.--The term 
     ``cost-effective water efficiency measure'' means any 
     building product, material, equipment, or service, and the 
     installing, implementing, or operating thereof, that provides 
     water savings in an amount that is not less than the cost of 
     such installing, implementing, or operating.
       (b) Model Provisions, Policies, and Best Practices.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in consultation 
     with the Secretary of Energy and after providing the public 
     with an opportunity for notice and comment, shall develop 
     model commercial leasing provisions and best practices in 
     accordance with this subsection.
       (2) Commercial leasing.--
       (A) In general.--The model commercial leasing provisions 
     developed under this subsection shall, at a minimum, align 
     the interests of building owners and tenants with regard to 
     investments in cost-effective energy efficiency measures and 
     cost-effective water efficiency measures to encourage 
     building owners and tenants to collaborate to invest in such 
     measures.
       (B) Use of model provisions.--The Administrator may use the 
     model commercial leasing provisions developed under this 
     subsection in any standard leasing document that designates a 
     Federal agency (or other client of the Administrator) as a 
     landlord or tenant.
       (C) Publication.--The Administrator shall periodically 
     publish the model commercial leasing provisions developed 
     under this subsection, along with explanatory materials, to 
     encourage building owners and tenants in the private sector 
     to use such provisions and materials.
       (3) Realty services.--The Administrator shall develop 
     policies and practices to implement cost-effective energy 
     efficiency measures and cost-effective water efficiency 
     measures for the realty services provided by the 
     Administrator to Federal agencies (or other clients of the 
     Administrator), including periodic training of appropriate 
     Federal employees and contractors on how to identify and 
     evaluate those measures.
       (4) State and local assistance.--The Administrator, in 
     consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall make 
     available model commercial leasing provisions and best 
     practices developed under this subsection to State, county, 
     and municipal governments for use in managing owned and 
     leased building space in accordance with the goal of 
     encouraging investment in all cost-effective energy 
     efficiency measures and cost-effective water efficiency 
     measures.

     SEC. 103. SEPARATE SPACES WITH HIGH-PERFORMANCE ENERGY 
                   EFFICIENCY MEASURES.

       (a) In General.--Subtitle B of title IV of the Energy 
     Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17081 et 
     seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 424. SEPARATE SPACES WITH HIGH-PERFORMANCE ENERGY 
                   EFFICIENCY MEASURES.

       ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) High-performance energy efficiency measure.--The term 
     `high-performance energy efficiency measure' means a 
     technology, product, or practice that will result in 
     substantial operational cost savings by reducing energy 
     consumption and utility costs.
       ``(2) Separate spaces.--The term `separate spaces' means 
     areas within a commercial building that are leased or 
     otherwise occupied by a tenant or other occupant for a period 
     of time pursuant to the terms of a written agreement.
       ``(b) Study.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this section, the Secretary, acting through the 
     Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable 
     Energy, shall complete a study on the feasibility of--
       ``(A) significantly improving energy efficiency in 
     commercial buildings through the design and construction, by 
     owners and tenants, of separate spaces with high-performance 
     energy efficiency measures; and
       ``(B) encouraging owners and tenants to implement high-
     performance energy efficiency measures in separate spaces.
       ``(2) Scope.--The study shall, at a minimum, include--
       ``(A) descriptions of--
       ``(i) high-performance energy efficiency measures that 
     should be considered as part of the initial design and 
     construction of separate spaces;

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       ``(ii) processes that owners, tenants, architects, and 
     engineers may replicate when designing and constructing 
     separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency 
     measures;
       ``(iii) policies and best practices to achieve reductions 
     in energy intensities for lighting, plug loads, heating, 
     cooling, cooking, laundry, and other systems to satisfy the 
     needs of the commercial building tenant;
       ``(iv) return on investment and payback analyses of the 
     incremental cost and projected energy savings of the proposed 
     set of high-performance energy efficiency measures, including 
     consideration of available incentives;
       ``(v) models and simulation methods that predict the 
     quantity of energy used by separate spaces with high-
     performance energy efficiency measures and that compare that 
     predicted quantity to the quantity of energy used by separate 
     spaces without high-performance energy efficiency measures 
     but that otherwise comply with applicable building code 
     requirements;
       ``(vi) measurement and verification platforms demonstrating 
     actual energy use of high-performance energy efficiency 
     measures installed in separate spaces, and whether such 
     measures generate the savings intended in the initial design 
     and construction of the separate spaces;
       ``(vii) best practices that encourage an integrated 
     approach to designing and constructing separate spaces to 
     perform at optimum energy efficiency in conjunction with the 
     central systems of a commercial building; and
       ``(viii) any impact on employment resulting from the design 
     and construction of separate spaces with high-performance 
     energy efficiency measures; and
       ``(B) case studies reporting economic and energy savings 
     returns in the design and construction of separate spaces 
     with high-performance energy efficiency measures.
       ``(3) Public participation.--Not later than 90 days after 
     the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary 
     shall publish a notice in the Federal Register requesting 
     public comments regarding effective methods, measures, and 
     practices for the design and construction of separate spaces 
     with high-performance energy efficiency measures.
       ``(4) Publication.--The Secretary shall publish the study 
     on the website of the Department of Energy.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 
     1(b) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 is 
     amended by inserting after the item relating to section 423 
     the following new item:

``Sec. 424. Separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency 
              measures.''.

     SEC. 104. TENANT STAR PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--Subtitle B of title IV of the Energy 
     Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17081 et 
     seq.) (as amended by section 3) is amended by adding at the 
     end the following:

     ``SEC. 425. TENANT STAR PROGRAM.

       ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) High-performance energy efficiency measure.--The term 
     `high-performance energy efficiency measure' has the meaning 
     given the term in section 424.
       ``(2) Separate spaces.--The term `separate spaces' has the 
     meaning given the term in section 424.
       ``(b) Tenant Star.--The Administrator of the Environmental 
     Protection Agency, in consultation with the Secretary of 
     Energy, shall develop a voluntary program within the Energy 
     Star program established by section 324A of the Energy Policy 
     and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6294a), which may be known as 
     Tenant Star, to promote energy efficiency in separate spaces 
     leased by tenants or otherwise occupied within commercial 
     buildings.
       ``(c) Expanding Survey Data.--The Secretary of Energy, 
     acting through the Administrator of the Energy Information 
     Administration, shall--
       ``(1) collect, through each Commercial Buildings Energy 
     Consumption Survey of the Energy Information Administration 
     that is conducted after the date of enactment of this 
     section, data on--
       ``(A) categories of building occupancy that are known to 
     consume significant quantities of energy, such as occupancy 
     by data centers, trading floors, and restaurants; and
       ``(B) other aspects of the property, building operation, or 
     building occupancy determined by the Administrator of the 
     Energy Information Administration, in consultation with the 
     Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to be 
     relevant in lowering energy consumption;
       ``(2) with respect to the first Commercial Buildings Energy 
     Consumption Survey conducted after the date of enactment of 
     this section, to the extent full compliance with the 
     requirements of paragraph (1) is not feasible, conduct 
     activities to develop the capability to collect such data and 
     begin to collect such data; and
       ``(3) make data collected under paragraphs (1) and (2) 
     available to the public in aggregated form and provide such 
     data, and any associated results, to the Administrator of the 
     Environmental Protection Agency for use in accordance with 
     subsection (d).
       ``(d)  Recognition of Owners and Tenants.--
       ``(1) Occupancy-based recognition.--Not later than 1 year 
     after the date on which sufficient data is received pursuant 
     to subsection (c), the Administrator of the Environmental 
     Protection Agency shall, following an opportunity for public 
     notice and comment--
       ``(A) in a manner similar to the Energy Star rating system 
     for commercial buildings, develop policies and procedures to 
     recognize tenants in commercial buildings that voluntarily 
     achieve high levels of energy efficiency in separate spaces;
       ``(B) establish building occupancy categories eligible for 
     Tenant Star recognition based on the data collected under 
     subsection (c) and any other appropriate data sources; and
       ``(C) consider other forms of recognition for commercial 
     building tenants or other occupants that lower energy 
     consumption in separate spaces.
       ``(2) Design- and construction-based recognition.--After 
     the study required by section 424(b) is completed, the 
     Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in 
     consultation with the Secretary and following an opportunity 
     for public notice and comment, may develop a voluntary 
     program to recognize commercial building owners and tenants 
     that use high-performance energy efficiency measures in the 
     design and construction of separate spaces.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 
     1(b) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 is 
     amended by inserting after the item relating to section 424 
     (as added by section 3(b)) the following new item:

``Sec. 425. Tenant Star program.''.

                  TITLE II--GRID-ENABLED WATER HEATERS

     SEC. 201. GRID-ENABLED WATER HEATERS.

       Part B of title III of the Energy Policy and Conservation 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 6291 et seq.) is amended--
       (1) in section 325(e) (42 U.S.C. 6295(e)), by adding at the 
     end the following:
       ``(6) Additional standards for grid-enabled water 
     heaters.--
       ``(A) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
       ``(i) Activation lock.--The term `activation lock' means a 
     control mechanism (either a physical device directly on the 
     water heater or a control system integrated into the water 
     heater) that is locked by default and contains a physical, 
     software, or digital communication that must be activated 
     with an activation key to enable the product to operate at 
     its designed specifications and capabilities and without 
     which activation the product will provide not greater than 50 
     percent of the rated first hour delivery of hot water 
     certified by the manufacturer.
       ``(ii) Grid-enabled water heater.--The term `grid-enabled 
     water heater' means an electric resistance water heater 
     that--

       ``(I) has a rated storage tank volume of more than 75 
     gallons;
       ``(II) is manufactured on or after April 16, 2015;
       ``(III) has--

       ``(aa) an energy factor of not less than 1.061 minus the 
     product obtained by multiplying--
       ``(AA) the rated storage volume of the tank, expressed in 
     gallons; and
       ``(BB) 0.00168; or
       ``(bb) an equivalent alternative standard prescribed by the 
     Secretary and developed pursuant to paragraph (5)(E);

       ``(IV) is equipped at the point of manufacture with an 
     activation lock; and
       ``(V) bears a permanent label applied by the manufacturer 
     that--

       ``(aa) is made of material not adversely affected by water;
       ``(bb) is attached by means of non-water-soluble adhesive; 
     and
       ``(cc) advises purchasers and end-users of the intended and 
     appropriate use of the product with the following notice 
     printed in 16.5 point Arial Narrow Bold font:

     ```IMPORTANT INFORMATION: This water heater is intended only 
     for use as part of an electric thermal storage or demand 
     response program. It will not provide adequate hot water 
     unless enrolled in such a program and activated by your 
     utility company or another program operator. Confirm the 
     availability of a program in your local area before 
     purchasing or installing this product.'.
       ``(B) Requirement.--The manufacturer or private labeler 
     shall provide the activation key for a grid-enabled water 
     heater only to a utility or other company that operates an 
     electric thermal storage or demand response program that uses 
     such a grid-enabled water heater.
       ``(C) Reports.--
       ``(i) Manufacturers.--The Secretary shall require each 
     manufacturer of grid-enabled water heaters to report to the 
     Secretary annually the quantity of grid-enabled water heaters 
     that the manufacturer ships each year.
       ``(ii) Operators.--The Secretary shall require utilities 
     and other demand response and thermal storage program 
     operators to report annually the quantity of grid-enabled 
     water heaters activated for their programs using forms of the 
     Energy Information Agency or using such other mechanism that 
     the Secretary determines appropriate after an opportunity for 
     notice and comment.

[[Page 3694]]

       ``(iii) Confidentiality requirements.--The Secretary shall 
     treat shipment data reported by manufacturers as confidential 
     business information.
       ``(D) Publication of information.--
       ``(i) In general.--In 2017 and 2019, the Secretary shall 
     publish an analysis of the data collected under subparagraph 
     (C) to assess the extent to which shipped products are put 
     into use in demand response and thermal storage programs.
       ``(ii) Prevention of product diversion.--If the Secretary 
     determines that sales of grid-enabled water heaters exceed by 
     15 percent or greater the quantity of such products activated 
     for use in demand response and thermal storage programs 
     annually, the Secretary shall, after opportunity for notice 
     and comment, establish procedures to prevent product 
     diversion for non-program purposes.
       ``(E) Compliance.--
       ``(i) In general.--Subparagraphs (A) through (D) shall 
     remain in effect until the Secretary determines under this 
     section that--

       ``(I) grid-enabled water heaters do not require a separate 
     efficiency requirement; or
       ``(II) sales of grid-enabled water heaters exceed by 15 
     percent or greater the quantity of such products activated 
     for use in demand response and thermal storage programs 
     annually and procedures to prevent product diversion for non-
     program purposes would not be adequate to prevent such 
     product diversion.

       ``(ii) Effective date.--If the Secretary exercises the 
     authority described in clause (i) or amends the efficiency 
     requirement for grid-enabled water heaters, that action will 
     take effect on the date described in subsection 
     (m)(4)(A)(ii).
       ``(iii) Consideration.--In carrying out this section with 
     respect to electric water heaters, the Secretary shall 
     consider the impact on thermal storage and demand response 
     programs, including any impact on energy savings, electric 
     bills, peak load reduction, electric reliability, integration 
     of renewable resources, and the environment.
       ``(iv) Requirements.--In carrying out this paragraph, the 
     Secretary shall require that grid-enabled water heaters be 
     equipped with communication capability to enable the grid-
     enabled water heaters to participate in ancillary services 
     programs if the Secretary determines that the technology is 
     available, practical, and cost-effective.'';
       (2) in section 332(a) (42 U.S.C. 6302(a))--
       (A) in paragraph (5), by striking ``or'' at the end;
       (B) in the first paragraph (6), by striking the period at 
     the end and inserting a semicolon;
       (C) by redesignating the second paragraph (6) as paragraph 
     (7);
       (D) in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (7) (as so 
     redesignated), by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting ``; or''; and
       (E) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(8) for any person to--
       ``(A) activate an activation lock for a grid-enabled water 
     heater with knowledge that such water heater is not used as 
     part of an electric thermal storage or demand response 
     program;
       ``(B) distribute an activation key for a grid-enabled water 
     heater with knowledge that such activation key will be used 
     to activate a grid-enabled water heater that is not used as 
     part of an electric thermal storage or demand response 
     program;
       ``(C) otherwise enable a grid-enabled water heater to 
     operate at its designed specification and capabilities with 
     knowledge that such water heater is not used as part of an 
     electric thermal storage or demand response program; or
       ``(D) knowingly remove or render illegible the label of a 
     grid-enabled water heater described in section 
     325(e)(6)(A)(ii)(V).'';
       (3) in section 333(a) (42 U.S.C. 6303(a))--
       (A) by striking ``section 332(a)(5)'' and inserting 
     ``paragraph (5), (6), (7), or (8) of section 332(a)''; and
       (B) by striking ``paragraph (1), (2), or (5) of section 
     332(a)'' and inserting ``paragraph (1), (2), (5), (6), (7), 
     or (8) of section 332(a)''; and
       (4) in section 334 (42 U.S.C. 6304)--
       (A) by striking ``section 332(a)(5)'' and inserting 
     ``paragraph (5), (6), (7), or (8) of section 332(a)''; and
       (B) by striking ``section 332(a)(6)'' and inserting 
     ``section 332(a)(7)''.

           TITLE III--ENERGY EFFICIENT GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY

     SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``Energy Efficient 
     Government Technology Act''.

     SEC. 302. ENERGY-EFFICIENT AND ENERGY-SAVING INFORMATION 
                   TECHNOLOGIES.

       Subtitle C of title V of the Energy Independence and 
     Security Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-140; 121 Stat. 1661) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 530. ENERGY-EFFICIENT AND ENERGY-SAVING INFORMATION 
                   TECHNOLOGIES.

       ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Director.--The term `Director' means the Director of 
     the Office of Management and Budget.
       ``(2) Information technology.--The term `information 
     technology' has the meaning given that term in section 11101 
     of title 40, United States Code.
       ``(b) Development of Implementation Strategy.--Not later 
     than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, each 
     Federal agency shall coordinate with the Director, the 
     Secretary, and the Administrator of the Environmental 
     Protection Agency to develop an implementation strategy (that 
     includes best practices and measurement and verification 
     techniques) for the maintenance, purchase, and use by the 
     Federal agency of energy-efficient and energy-saving 
     information technologies, taking into consideration the 
     performance goals established under subsection (d).
       ``(c) Administration.--In developing an implementation 
     strategy under subsection (b), each Federal agency shall 
     consider--
       ``(1) advanced metering infrastructure;
       ``(2) energy-efficient data center strategies and methods 
     of increasing asset and infrastructure utilization;
       ``(3) advanced power management tools;
       ``(4) building information modeling, including building 
     energy management;
       ``(5) secure telework and travel substitution tools; and
       ``(6) mechanisms to ensure that the agency realizes the 
     energy cost savings brought about through increased 
     efficiency and utilization.
       ``(d) Performance Goals.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
     of enactment of this section, the Director, in consultation 
     with the Secretary, shall establish performance goals for 
     evaluating the efforts of Federal agencies in improving the 
     maintenance, purchase, and use of energy-efficient and 
     energy-saving information technology.
       ``(2) Best practices.--The Chief Information Officers 
     Council established under section 3603 of title 44, United 
     States Code, shall recommend best practices for the 
     attainment of the performance goals, which shall include 
     Federal agency consideration of the use of--
       ``(A) energy savings performance contracting; and
       ``(B) utility energy services contracting.
       ``(e) Reports.--
       ``(1) Agency reports.--Each Federal agency shall include in 
     the report of the agency under section 527 a description of 
     the efforts and results of the agency under this section.
       ``(2) OMB government efficiency reports and scorecards.--
     Effective beginning not later than October 1, 2015, the 
     Director shall include in the annual report and scorecard of 
     the Director required under section 528 a description of the 
     efforts and results of Federal agencies under this 
     section.''.

     SEC. 303. ENERGY EFFICIENT DATA CENTERS.

       Section 453 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 
     2007 (42 U.S.C. 17112) is amended--
       (1) by striking subsection (b)(3); and
       (2) by striking subsections (c) through (g) and inserting 
     the following:
       ``(c) Stakeholder Involvement.--The Secretary and the 
     Administrator shall carry out subsection (b) in collaboration 
     with information technology industry and other key 
     stakeholders, with the goal of producing results that 
     accurately reflect the best knowledge in the most pertinent 
     domains. In such collaboration, the Secretary and the 
     Administrator shall pay particular attention to organizations 
     that--
       ``(1) have members with expertise in energy efficiency and 
     in the development, operation, and functionality of data 
     centers, information technology equipment, and software, such 
     as representatives of hardware manufacturers, data center 
     operators, and facility managers;
       ``(2) obtain and address input from Department of Energy 
     National Laboratories or any college, university, research 
     institution, industry association, company, or public 
     interest group with applicable expertise;
       ``(3) follow--
       ``(A) commonly accepted procedures for the development of 
     specifications; and
       ``(B) accredited standards development processes; and
       ``(4) have a mission to promote energy efficiency for data 
     centers and information technology.
       ``(d) Measurements and Specifications.--The Secretary and 
     the Administrator shall consider and assess the adequacy of 
     the specifications, measurements, and benchmarks described in 
     subsection (b) for use by the Federal Energy Management 
     Program, the Energy Star Program, and other efficiency 
     programs of the Department of Energy or the Environmental 
     Protection Agency.
       ``(e) Study.--The Secretary, in collaboration with the 
     Administrator, shall, not later than 18 months after the date 
     of enactment of the Energy Efficient Government Technology 
     Act, make available to the public an update to the Report to 
     Congress on Server and Data Center Energy Efficiency 
     published on August 2, 2007, under section 1 of Public Law 
     109-431 (120 Stat. 2920), that provides--
       ``(1) a comparison and gap analysis of the estimates and 
     projections contained in the original report with new data 
     regarding the period from 2007 through 2014;
       ``(2) an analysis considering the impact of information 
     technologies, to include virtualization and cloud computing, 
     in the public and private sectors;
       ``(3) an evaluation of the impact of the combination of 
     cloud platforms, mobile devices, social media, and big data 
     on data center energy usage; and

[[Page 3695]]

       ``(4) updated projections and recommendations for best 
     practices through fiscal year 2020.
       ``(f) Data Center Energy Practitioner Program.--The 
     Secretary, in collaboration with key stakeholders and the 
     Director of the Office of Management and Budget, shall 
     maintain a data center energy practitioner program that leads 
     to the certification of energy practitioners qualified to 
     evaluate the energy usage and efficiency opportunities in 
     Federal data centers. Each Federal agency shall consider 
     having the data centers of the agency evaluated every 4 years 
     by energy practitioners certified pursuant to such program, 
     whenever practicable using certified practitioners employed 
     by the agency.
       ``(g) Open Data Initiative.--The Secretary, in 
     collaboration with key stakeholders and the Office of 
     Management and Budget, shall establish an open data 
     initiative for Federal data center energy usage data, with 
     the purpose of making such data available and accessible in a 
     manner that encourages further data center innovation, 
     optimization, and consolidation. In establishing the 
     initiative, the Secretary shall consider the use of the 
     online Data Center Maturity Model.
       ``(h) International Specifications and Metrics.--The 
     Secretary, in collaboration with key stakeholders, shall 
     actively participate in efforts to harmonize global 
     specifications and metrics for data center energy efficiency.
       ``(i) Data Center Utilization Metric.--The Secretary, in 
     collaboration with key stakeholders, shall facilitate in the 
     development of an efficiency metric that measures the energy 
     efficiency of a data center (including equipment and 
     facilities).
       ``(j) Protection of Proprietary Information.--The Secretary 
     and the Administrator shall not disclose any proprietary 
     information or trade secrets provided by any individual or 
     company for the purposes of carrying out this section or the 
     programs and initiatives established under this section.''.

         TITLE IV--ENERGY INFORMATION FOR COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS

     SEC. 401. ENERGY INFORMATION FOR COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS.

       (a) Requirement of Benchmarking and Disclosure for Leasing 
     Buildings Without Energy Star Labels.--Section 435(b)(2) of 
     the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 
     17091(b)(2)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``paragraph (2)'' and inserting ``paragraph 
     (1)''; and
       (2) by striking ``signing the contract,'' and all that 
     follows through the period at the end and inserting the 
     following:
       ``signing the contract, the following requirements are met:
       ``(A) The space is renovated for all energy efficiency and 
     conservation improvements that would be cost effective over 
     the life of the lease, including improvements in lighting, 
     windows, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning 
     systems.
       ``(B)(i) Subject to clause (ii), the space is benchmarked 
     under a nationally recognized, online, free benchmarking 
     program, with public disclosure, unless the space is a space 
     for which owners cannot access whole building utility 
     consumption data, including spaces--
       ``(I) that are located in States with privacy laws that 
     provide that utilities shall not provide such aggregated 
     information to multitenant building owners; and
       ``(II) for which tenants do not provide energy consumption 
     information to the commercial building owner in response to a 
     request from the building owner.
       ``(ii) A Federal agency that is a tenant of the space shall 
     provide to the building owner, or authorize the owner to 
     obtain from the utility, the energy consumption information 
     of the space for the benchmarking and disclosure required by 
     this subparagraph.''.
       (b) Study.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, in 
     collaboration with the Administrator of the Environmental 
     Protection Agency, shall complete a study--
       (A) on the impact of--
       (i) State and local performance benchmarking and disclosure 
     policies, and any associated building efficiency policies, 
     for commercial and multifamily buildings; and
       (ii) programs and systems in which utilities provide 
     aggregated information regarding whole building energy 
     consumption and usage information to owners of multitenant 
     commercial, residential, and mixed-use buildings;
       (B) that identifies best practice policy approaches studied 
     under subparagraph (A) that have resulted in the greatest 
     improvements in building energy efficiency; and
       (C) that considers--
       (i) compliance rates and the benefits and costs of the 
     policies and programs on building owners, utilities, tenants, 
     and other parties;
       (ii) utility practices, programs, and systems that provide 
     aggregated energy consumption information to multitenant 
     building owners, and the impact of public utility commissions 
     and State privacy laws on those practices, programs, and 
     systems;
       (iii) exceptions to compliance in existing laws where 
     building owners are not able to gather or access whole 
     building energy information from tenants or utilities;
       (iv) the treatment of buildings with--

       (I) multiple uses;
       (II) uses for which baseline information is not available; 
     and
       (III) uses that require high levels of energy intensities, 
     such as data centers, trading floors, and televisions 
     studios;

       (v) implementation practices, including disclosure methods 
     and phase-in of compliance;
       (vi) the safety and security of benchmarking tools offered 
     by government agencies, and the resiliency of those tools 
     against cyber-attacks; and
       (vii) international experiences with regard to building 
     benchmarking and disclosure laws and data aggregation for 
     multitenant buildings.
       (2) Submission to congress.--At the conclusion of the 
     study, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy 
     and Commerce of the House of Representatives and Committee on 
     Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report on the 
     results of the study.
       (c) Creation and Maintenance of Database.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
     enactment of this Act and following opportunity for public 
     notice and comment, the Secretary of Energy, in coordination 
     with other relevant agencies, shall maintain, and if 
     necessary create, a database for the purpose of storing and 
     making available public energy-related information on 
     commercial and multifamily buildings, including--
       (A) data provided under Federal, State, local, and other 
     laws or programs regarding building benchmarking and energy 
     information disclosure;
       (B) information on buildings that have disclosed energy 
     ratings and certifications; and
       (C) energy-related information on buildings provided 
     voluntarily by the owners of the buildings, only in an 
     anonymous form unless the owner provides otherwise.
       (2) Complementary programs.--The database maintained 
     pursuant to paragraph (1) shall complement and not duplicate 
     the functions of the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy 
     Star Portfolio Manager tool.
       (d) Input From Stakeholders.--The Secretary of Energy shall 
     seek input from stakeholders to maximize the effectiveness of 
     the actions taken under this section.
       (e) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the 
     Secretary of Energy shall submit to the Committee on Energy 
     and Commerce of the House of Representatives and Committee on 
     Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report on the 
     progress made in complying with this section.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Kentucky (Mr. Whitfield) and the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Welch) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kentucky.


                             General Leave

  Mr. WHITFIELD. 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 Kentucky?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  The benefits of energy efficiency are something that both the 
Republicans and Democrats agree on as evidenced by the modest but 
robust package we are considering today. Reducing waste and consuming 
less energy are commonsense strategies to cut costs and address U.S. 
energy demand.
  I want to thank Mr. Welch and Mr. McKinley for their leadership on 
this energy efficiency bill. Both they and their staffs have worked 
very hard on this legislation as have the committee staffs, both 
Democrat and Republican.
  The U.S. has steadily improved its energy productivity as a result of 
advances in technology, driven primarily by private sector innovation. 
In particular, the industrial and manufacturing sectors have undertaken 
significant efforts to improve efficiency and reap the resulting 
economic benefits. The Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2014 
supports these ongoing efforts by spurring the use of energy efficiency 
technologies and processes in the commercial, industrial, and public 
sectors of our economy. The legislation saves consumers money through 
lowered energy consumption, helps create jobs, makes our country more 
energy

[[Page 3696]]

independent, and will produce associated environmental benefits. 
Critically, this bill will make the country's largest energy user, the 
Federal Government, more efficient, thereby saving taxpayer money.
  I am delighted that we have this bill on the floor today. I look 
forward to working with the Members of the body to make sure that we 
pass this legislation, and I would urge their support.
  I reserve the balance of my time.

                                         House of Representatives,


                             Committee on Energy and Commerce,

                                Washington, DC, February 26, 2014.
     Hon. Bill Shuster,
     Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
         Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Shuster, Thank you for your letter regarding 
     H.R. 2126, the ``Better Buildings Act of 2013.'' As you 
     noted, there are provisions of H.R. 2126 that fall within the 
     Rule X jurisdiction of the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure, and I appreciate your willingness to forgo 
     action on the bill so that it may proceed expeditiously to 
     the House floor for consideration.
       I agree that your decision should not alter or diminish the 
     jurisdiction of the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure with respect to the appointment of conferees 
     or any future claim over the subject matters contained in the 
     bill or similar legislation, and I will support the 
     appointment of Members of the Committee to any conference 
     committee on such provisions.
       I will include a copy of your letter and this response in 
     the Congressional Record during consideration of H.R. 2126 on 
     the House floor.
           Sincerely,
                                                       Fred Upton,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

         House of Representatives, Committee on Transportation and 
           Infrastructure,
                                Washington, DC, February 26, 2014.
     Hon. Fred Upton,
     Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Rayburn House 
         Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: I write concerning H.R. 2126, the Better 
     Buildings Act of 2013, as ordered reported by the Committee 
     on Energy and Commerce. There are certain provisions in the 
     legislation that fall within. the Rule X jurisdiction of the 
     Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
       In order to expedite this legislation for floor 
     consideration, the Committee will forgo action on this bill. 
     However, this is conditional on our mutual understanding that 
     forgoing consideration of the bill does not alter or diminish 
     the jurisdiction of the Committee with respect to the 
     appointment of conferees or to any future jurisdictional 
     claim over the subject matters contained in the bill or 
     similar legislation. I request you urge the Speaker to name 
     members of the Committee to any conference committee named to 
     consider such provisions.
       Please place a copy of this letter and your response 
     acknowledging our jurisdictional interest into the 
     Congressional Record during consideration of the measure on 
     the House Floor.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Bill Shuster,
                                                         Chairman.

  Mr. WELCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Chairman Upton, Chairman Whitfield, and Ranking Members Waxman and 
Rush, I thank all of you for working with us to move this bipartisan 
legislation today.
  Mr. Whitfield, I want to particularly thank you for your leadership 
on the subcommittee.
  Thank you as well to my colleague David McKinley for partnering with 
me on this issue. Mr. McKinley has an extraordinary background as an 
engineer and small business owner. He has real practical knowledge that 
has been extremely helpful, and he has brought invaluable expertise to 
our committee. I am grateful to him, and this whole body should be 
grateful to him for his partnership.
  The bill today also includes some very good ideas advanced by other 
Members of Congress: Representatives Eshoo, Rogers, Matheson, Latta, 
and Castor. I thank all of them for their leadership on this issue.
  Lastly, I want to thank House leaders, especially Majority Leader 
Cantor. He and his staff--Steve Stombres--have been enormously 
cooperative in dealing with some of the thorny problems that arise 
whenever there is a complicated piece of legislation to be considered. 
So thank you.
  Like Mr. Whitfield, I have long believed that energy efficiency is an 
area in which we have common ground in what is too often a very divided 
Congress.
  Mr. Whitfield, I thank you for focusing on that common ground.
  Why is it so good?
  Because saving energy does three things. It creates jobs. All of the 
energy efficiency labor is done by local folks who need work. It 
creates manufacturing jobs because 90 percent of the materials used in 
energy efficiency are manufactured in this country. It saves money and 
it improves the environment.

                              {time}  1530

  So we can, and do, disagree in this Congress on the causes of climate 
change and the best fuel mix to meet America's energy demands, but we 
can all agree that less is more. Whatever your fuel source, if you use 
less, you save money, and that is good for all of us concerned.
  We can also agree that creating demand for American-made energy-
efficient products will also create good jobs. In energy efficiency, 
our cheapest fuel requires, as I said, labor and manufactured goods 
that are made in America.
  We can also all agree that cutting the energy bills of homeowners, 
businesses, and the Federal Government--therefore, the taxpayer--is a 
very good thing.
  Mr. Speaker, Vermont, which I represent, has long been a leader in 
energy efficiency. My home State was the first to set up what was 
called an energy efficiency utility. That utility, Efficiency Vermont, 
has done outstanding work for the past 20 years.
  Basically, what it acknowledges and understands is that a kilowatt 
saved is a cost avoided. Last year alone, Efficiency Vermont's work 
yielded a lifetime customer savings of $206 million for our small State 
in Vermont.
  The Energy Efficiency Improvement Act is an important first step in 
making America more energy efficient. It includes the Better Buildings 
Act, also known as Tenant Star, which will drive private sector 
innovation in energy efficiency.
  By the way, again, Mr. Whitfield, I appreciate this.
  This is a public-private partnership. This is not a prescriptive 
arrangement. It requires good policy at the Federal level, with 
cooperation and opportunity-seizing at the private level.
  Homes and buildings consume 40 percent of our energy in the United 
States. It is really huge. In commercial buildings, owners report that 
tenants consume up to 50 percent or more of the total energy output.
  One of the challenges our commercial building owners and developers 
face has been the issue of split incentives. Building owners and 
renters are not always on the same page when it comes to energy 
performance. Part of the problem is that only one party is paying the 
energy bill. The other part of the problem is that, while we recognize 
energy efficient buildings through the Energy Star program, we have no 
similar recognition program for tenant spaces.
  Our bill creates a voluntary Tenant Star recognition program for 
separate spaces in commercial buildings. When we combine Energy Star 
buildings with Tenant Star rentals, we can optimize energy efficiency 
in shortened payback periods.
  A good example of this synergy can be found in Energy Star-certified 
Vermont Innovation Center, located in Burlington, Vermont. The Vermont 
Energy Investment Corporation, or VEIC, has its office in that 
building. VEIC took aggressive action to optimize the efficiency of its 
tenant space within the building. It converted the overhead fluorescent 
lighting to highly efficient LEDs and applied 6 inches of spray foam 
insulation to the exterior wells.
  Making these improvements in an Energy Star building optimized an 
already efficient tenant space, but VEIC expects to save nearly $11,000 
a year in energy savings. Where I come from, that is real money.
  However, there is no recognition program for these improvements, and 
we don't know what else VEIC could be doing to increase energy savings. 
Under this bill, we will study the best ways to optimize commercial 
tenant

[[Page 3697]]

spaces and then recognize those spaces with a new Tenant Star label.
  By combining energy efficient tenant build-out with Energy Star 
buildings, we will double down on a successful program and optimize 
energy savings in commercial buildings.
  In addition to Tenant Star, this legislation includes three other 
important energy provisions. Again, I thank Mr. Whitfield for his 
leadership in allowing other good ideas to be part of this legislation.
  First, it is going to increase the energy efficiency of Federal 
Government data centers. They are huge energy consumers. Data centers 
use massive amounts of energy. This legislation will finally begin to 
address the enormous Federal energy bill for those facilities.
  Second, this bill addresses a serious regulatory problem involving 
large-scale water heaters.
  Sometimes we have an argument back and forth about regulations. What 
I love about this bill, among other things, is we are fixing a problem, 
not just fighting about it.
  It is going to make needed changes to energy efficiency standards for 
large water heaters that are used in demand response programs. These 
water heaters act as residential energy storage devices and allow 
utilities to curb energy demand during peak hours.
  So we are giving some of our rural electric cooperatives tools they 
need to keep the cost and energy demand down.
  Finally, the bill will disclose the amount of energy consumed in 
federally leased buildings and begin benchmarking these buildings.
  The Energy Efficiency Improvement Act, comprised of these four 
components, is an important first step towards energy efficiency, but 
more work remains. In the coming weeks, I look forward to working with 
my colleagues to pass the McKinley-Welch-Shaheen-Portman legislation, 
which will establish national model building codes. We also need to 
pass legislation to encourage performance contracting in Federal 
buildings and to streamline the Federal green schools project.
  Energy efficiency, as Mr. Whitfield said, Mr. Speaker, is a 
bipartisan issue. I am extremely encouraged by the steps we are taking 
today. I look forward to working with the chairman, ranking member, and 
House leaders to bring more bills to the floor in the coming weeks.
  I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. WHITFIELD. I want to thank the gentleman for his remarks. Also, I 
certainly want to thank Ms. Eshoo of California for the leadership 
she's had on this position, as well as our chairman of the Energy and 
Commerce Committee, Mr. Upton.
  At this time I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Michigan (Mr. Upton).
  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, today, we continue our pursuit of a true all-
of-the-above energy policy as the House considers H.R. 2126, the Energy 
Efficiency Improvement Act. I am very pleased that this bill combines 
four individual bipartisan proposals developed by members of the Energy 
and Commerce Committee.
  Energy efficiency measures are some of the simplest and most 
affordable methods to address U.S. energy demand and lower costs, but 
significant energy efficiency opportunities and challenges certainly 
remain. This legislative package helps embrace these opportunities and 
meet many challenges to advance U.S. energy goals.
  Using a voluntary, market-driven approach, this bipartisan 
legislation will help harness new technologies and support private 
sector innovation to develop more efficient ways of utilizing energy.
  H.R. 2126 also seeks to improve Federal energy efficiency, a critical 
initiative, given that the Federal Government is the Nation's largest 
user of energy. Utilizing energy savings techniques can significantly 
reduce the amount of U.S. taxpayer dollars spent on Federal energy 
costs.
  Mr. Speaker, when it comes to American energy, everything needs to be 
on the table: coal, nuclear, natural gas, hydro, wind, solar--you name 
it, and yes, improving energy efficiency is an important part of the 
all-of-the-above equation.
  The passage of this important energy efficiency bill will help us as 
we continue to work together on a bipartisan basis in the coming months 
and years to tackle the many energy challenges facing the Nation. We 
have a lot of work to do.
  Basically, what this bill does is takes four individual bills that we 
had. One was led by the really good work of Mr. Welch and Mr. McKinley 
to establish a Tenant Star program to voluntarily certify within Energy 
Star, which would promote energy efficiency.
  It takes a Whitfield bill on grid-enabled water heaters. I commend 
Ms. Eshoo and Mike Rogers--again, a bipartisan combination--in adding 
more energy efficient savings technologies in a major way to help us.
  It also takes a Castor bill on energy information for commercial 
buildings.
  Together, many of us sat down with the then-chairman of the Senate 
Energy Committee, Mr. Wyden, about a year ago on things that we could 
work on together, and we have proved it with this legislation. These 
bills had unanimous support within our committee. We worked together. 
Ultimately, it is going to help the American consumer and the Federal 
Government--again, the largest user of electricity--and shows we can 
get things done.
  So we have Mr. Welch, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Whitfield, Mike Rogers, Ms. 
Castor, and also Mr. Waxman and his staff, too. I know that he wishes 
he was on the floor. Together, we really did get this thing worked out 
in a way that the American public would be certainly very proud of.
  I know that we have lost Mr. Wyden. He has moved to another 
committee, but I would hope that a strong vote this afternoon would 
send a pretty good message to the Senate that in fact they can embrace 
these bills.
  A week or two ago, the majority leader said something along the lines 
of he wanted to pick a number of issues we can work on together and get 
them out of the way and get them to the President's desk. These are 
pretty good bills. I would like to think that once we pass these, the 
new leadership there in the Senate Energy Committee could simply move 
these bills from the desk and get them to the President's desk in an 
expeditious way.
  So I want to conclude by thanking my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle for developing this legislation that in fact we are supporting. I 
would encourage all of my colleagues to stand up for an all-of-the-
above energy policy and support passage of the Energy Efficiency 
Improvement Act.
  Mr. WELCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Eshoo).
  Ms. ESHOO. I thank my friend and my colleague for yielding. I thank 
him for the work that he has done, as well as Mr. Whitfield, Mr. 
McKinley, Ms. Castor, and staff on both sides of the aisle. It feels 
good to come to the floor to speak on a package of bills that are 
bipartisan and that are really going to produce something for our 
country and help move us forward.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today in support of the package of 
these four bipartisan energy efficiency bills because they are going to 
save taxpayer dollars. They are very important.
  Title III of this legislation is a bill that I authored with 
Congressman Mike Rogers of Michigan to make the Federal Government's IT 
and data centers more energy efficient. We have been at this for a long 
time. By requiring Federal agencies to utilize the best technologies 
and energy management strategies, our legislation will reduce the 
Federal Government's energy use, save taxpayer dollars, and 
importantly, set the standard for the private sector.
  While we now routinely hear a lot about data centers, that was not 
the case when we started out examining this issue a decade ago. Back 
then, I had to explain to colleagues what a data center was. Today, 
just about everybody understands that data centers are a critical part 
of our national infrastructure and are found in nearly every sector of 
our economy.
  In 2005, I authored language in the Energy Policy Act that mandated 
an EPA study relative to energy use and

[[Page 3698]]

energy costs of data centers. The report was transmitted to Congress in 
2007 and served as a driver of both private and public investment in 
energy efficiency. Based on widespread agreement across government, 
industry, and academia, the bill before us today requires an update to 
that 2007 report.
  Data centers can be extremely energy inefficient. Experts estimate 
that most data centers could slash their energy use by 80 to 90 
percent. That really takes our collective breath away. There are 
enormous opportunities in this by simply implementing existing 
technologies and best practices.
  So we can do this. We can get this done.
  While several companies in my Silicon Valley district have taken the 
lead in developing efficient, sustainable data centers, we can do much 
better across the private sector and the Federal Government.

                              {time}  1545

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mr. WELCH. I yield the gentlewoman an additional 1 minute.
  Ms. ESHOO. I thank the gentleman.
  The Federal Government is the Nation's largest landowner, largest 
employer, and largest energy user, and so we should lead by example in 
improving the energy efficiency of our own data centers within the 
Federal Government.
  So the bill that Mr. Rogers and I have embedded in this package 
requires Federal agencies to do some really rather simple things that 
are going to lead to terrific outcomes. They need to develop plans to 
use more energy-efficient technologies and best practices, and require 
periodic evaluation of Federal data centers for energy efficiency.
  I want to thank Chairman Upton, Ranking Member Waxman, the staffs 
from both sides of the aisle, the Members that are part of the 
legislation that is part of this bipartisan package.
  And I also want to salute Paul Beck, who serves on my staff in my 
office, who has really been the wind beneath the sails of this bill. He 
has lived and breathed efficiency in data centers day in and day out.
  Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
West Virginia (Mr. McKinley), who is the author of title I of this 
legislation.
  Mr. McKINLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2126.
  While there are many differing views in Congress, there is one common 
ground, and that is energy efficiency. Finding ways to use energy more 
efficiently is simply common sense.
  This legislation will provide this country with a market-driven, 
voluntary, best practice approach to reduce energy consumption. It is 
an area where Republicans and Democrats can work together efficiently. 
That is why Peter Welch and I have developed a wonderful working 
relationship and developed an issue on energy that crosses this and 
other pieces of legislation.
  As one of just two engineers in Congress, and having spent nearly 50 
years in the construction industry, I understand what steps we need to 
take to make our buildings more efficient. That is why we brought 
together a broad coalition of support for this legislation, supported 
by everyone from manufacturers, restaurants, contractors, labor, 
environmental groups. Even the gaming industry is supporting this 
legislation. It is estimated to lower energy costs by over $2 billion 
and result in reduced carbon emissions by nearly 12 million tons. It 
helps move our Nation closer to energy independence.
  I would like to thank Chairman Upton and Ranking Member Waxman for 
allowing this bipartisan bill to come to the floor, and Congressman 
Whitfield for helping out on all the legislation, as well as Mr. Welch.
  Engineers know how to make buildings operate more efficiently. Maybe 
our next step would be to make Congress run more efficiently.
  I urge all my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation.
  Mr. WELCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it is going to take a lot more engineers to get this 
place operating a lot better, but this was a step.
  Mr. Whitfield wasn't here when I was bragging on him, Mr. Speaker. 
You have got that practical knowledge from his year of experience in 
construction and that engineering background.
  But here is the other thing. There is a big debate about carbon 
emissions. I happen to be someone who thinks it is a very, very serious 
problem. But if we--even under the Waxman-Markey bill, which passed the 
House and then did not pass the Senate, with a goal of reduction of 80 
percent of carbon emissions by 2050, 40 percent were going to be 
achieved through energy efficiency. So this is a really big deal.
  There are questions about a lot of things on energy policy, but where 
we do have this common ground with significant leadership on both sides 
of the aisle, that energy efficiency is an approach that really makes 
sense, then we can and should do it. So I am very grateful to all 
concerned in pulling together to take the first really solid step 
towards embracing an energy efficiency agenda as part of an all-of-the-
above strategy on energy.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. 
Himes).
  Mr. HIMES. Mr. Speaker, I rise briefly just to salute the leadership 
of Representative McKinley and my good friend from Vermont, Peter 
Welch, for a bill which does some spectacular things. Specifically, it 
really enshrines the idea that the cheapest and cleanest energy that we 
have is that energy which we conserve and don't use, that we make 
available for the future.
  This--and I draw on my history now of building affordable housing in 
a green fashion--is a real win-win. It means that people are paying 
lower utility bills if they employ the methods that will be encouraged 
by this bill. It means that we are putting less carbon in the 
atmosphere, and this coming from somebody recently down from 
Connecticut where we have experienced, in the last several years, 
climate problems unlike any that we have ever seen. And of course, we 
are doing the right thing by the future.
  This is also, in a challenging time for this Chamber, a remarkable 
example of Democrats and Republicans working together to achieve 
something that will benefit not just the people in this Chamber, but 
will benefit the country and future generations. This is something we 
should build on. There is so much more we can do with respect to 
reconfiguring our economy and our industry and our residences so that 
they are clean and driven by cheap, sustainable, American energy.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I close now just as I opened, by thanking 
Representative McKinley and Representative Welch for their tremendous 
leadership and say that I very much look forward to supporting this 
bill later on today.
  Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, we do not have any more speakers, so I 
would reserve the balance of my time if the gentleman wants to proceed.
  Mr. WELCH. Mr. Speaker, how much time is remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Vermont has 4\1/2\ 
minutes remaining.
  Mr. WELCH. Well, I will just close briefly. I don't believe we have 
any other speakers.
  Again, there are several things here:
  One is the wisdom of an energy efficiency policy, less is more; and 
whether you are consuming oil or solar, if you use less, you are going 
to save money. It is good for the bottom line;
  Second, any energy efficiency means that we are going to keep in the 
ground for future use any other fuels that we may need down the road;
  Third, any energy efficiency requires implementation of energy 
efficiency retrofits. That is local labor, good jobs, and the use of 
locally manufactured products;
  Fourth, energy efficiency means that we do not have to build more 
generating capacity in order to generate. That saves money;
  Fifth, what it does is it cuts down on carbon emissions. It is all a 
really good thing.
  Then finally, several speakers have referred to Congress, and we all 
know we have had our challenges here, and it

[[Page 3699]]

is a function, to some extent, of real debates among the American 
people that we reflect to some extent. We can't get out of our own way 
sometimes with some of our rules. But what we know is that, at the end 
the day, this institution has to be a problem-solving institution that 
works for the American people. And what we have done here, with Mr. 
Upton and Mr. Whitfield being the leaders with the responsible 
positions, is focused on areas where we agree. And they are meaningful 
areas. It is not a split-the-difference type of deal where we have just 
shaved so much off that it really is not significant. What we have done 
is put aside areas where we have real disagreement and haven't reached 
consensus and then doubled down on that area of efficiency where there 
is common ground.
  We have taken good ideas, whether they have been offered by a 
Republican or a Democrat, and we have kept disciplined to have this 
legislation be about efficiency and a policy that is going to work for 
the American people, and we haven't turned it, either side, into a 
political Christmas tree that allows us to make some extraneous points. 
In my view, I think we need to do more of that.
  I was very heartened in Congress when we had a budget agreement that 
was reached with the leadership of Paul Ryan in the House and Senator 
Murray in the Senate. I was happy we had an appropriations bill that 
did reflect a lot of give-and-take on both sides, and I was very 
pleased we had a farm bill. Again, lots of things to debate in that 
farm bill, but we need a 5-year farm bill for the people.
  And now, on energy, we finally pass something that both sides can 
legitimately be proud of because it is real policy. It is important 
policy that is going to be beneficial to the bottom line to the 
American people.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I would like to add on the words of the 
gentleman from Vermont, first of all, once again, just to say how much 
we enjoyed working with him and the others on this important 
legislation.
  We do firmly believe that the American people will benefit from this. 
We all recognize that energy is one of the components that goes a long 
way in determining how competitive America can be in the global 
marketplace, and any time you can improve efficiency, you improve that 
competitiveness. So I would urge all of our Members to support H.R. 
2126, the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2014.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, today, I urge the House of 
Representatives to pass this bipartisan energy efficiency legislation, 
the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2014, that would take a best 
practices approach to achieving optimal performance levels in 
commercial buildings and identify energy efficiency improvements in 
federal government data centers and leased buildings. This piece of 
legislation will save energy, save taxpayer dollars, lower consumers' 
energy bills and reduce harmful pollution.
  I want to thank Chairman Upton and Ranking Member Waxman of the 
Energy and Commerce Committee and Chairman Whitfield and Ranking Member 
Rush of the Energy and Power Subcommittee for including my bill, H.R. 
3820, a bill to encourage benchmarking and disclosure of energy 
information in commercial buildings, as Title IV of the Energy 
Efficiency Improvement Act.
  Existing federal law requires benchmarking of federally owned 
buildings. Benchmarking is a practice that allows building owners to 
assess the energy use of their buildings and compare their performance 
to similar buildings. My bill builds on existing law by requiring 
federally leased buildings to benchmark and disclose their energy usage 
data, where practical.
  Benchmarking helps owners identify buildings that can most benefit 
from energy upgrades. The federal Energy Star Buildings program has 
encouraged benchmarking for many years and the Environmental Protection 
Agency estimates that this program has benchmarked more than 185 
million square feet of U.S. commercial floor space, resulting in 
average energy savings of about 5 percent in these buildings.
  My bill requires a benchmarking study for commercial and multi-family 
buildings. A number of U.S. cities encourage or require benchmarking 
for large commercial or multi-family buildings. This information helps 
building owners, purchasers and renters make more informed decisions. 
This piece of legislation requires the Department of Energy, in 
collaboration with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency, to conduct a study on benchmarking methodologies so that cities 
and states can avoid pitfalls and implement best practices.
  I hope that passage of the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act marks a 
period of bipartisan cooperation. I look forward to working with my 
colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee on solving the nation's 
energy issues and other pressing matters.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues on the House 
Energy and Commerce Committee for their leadership and shared goal of 
promoting legislation that incentivizes stakeholders to manufacture and 
implement energy efficient technologies throughout our economy. 
Congress should always be looking for creative ways to incentivize our 
great American innovators like A.O. Smith to manufacture energy 
efficient technologies that consumers clearly want. So I commend you on 
your dedication to this effort and look forward to supporting H.R. 
2126.
  Sometimes we don't have to look too hard for ways to unleash American 
innovation and promote energy efficiency. Sometimes, we just have to 
use common sense and get the Federal Government out of the way.
  One concrete way Congress can force the government to get out of the 
way of our job creators would be to require the Department of Energy 
and the Environmental Protection Agency to recognize independent test 
results for air conditioning, furnace, boiler, heat pump and water 
heater products that are already subject to the rigors of an 
independent voluntary industry compliance program (or ``VICP'').
  Through the VICP, manufacturers of these highly efficient products 
contract with an independent, third-party laboratory to ensure their 
products comply with federal efficiency and conservation standards. 
Manufacturers spend millions to participate and run the VICP, and the 
program has been a resounding success for years.
  But the federal government won't accept VICP data for compliance 
purposes. Instead, the DOE and EPA (which manages the Energy Star 
program) force manufacturers that participate in the VICP to subject 
their products to two additional rounds of tests to satisfy agency 
standards. But to make matters worse, the DOE and EPA tests aren't any 
different than the VICP tests. Each test takes place at the same 
laboratories responsible for the VICP tests, with the same technicians 
on the same products.
  The end result: manufacturers of highly efficient air conditioning, 
furnace, boiler, heat pump and water heater products pay for three 
rounds of tests to effectuate the same result: making federal 
regulators happy.
  That, my colleagues, smacks of inefficient government bureaucracy 
that serves no purpose other than redirecting operational capital to 
satisfy the whims of the Obama Administration. We can and should do a 
better job of incentivizing manufacturers to innovate and invest in job 
creation--not to waste precious operational capital on complying with 
nonsensical bureaucratic mandates.
  I intend to eliminate this regulatory roadblock through legislation 
very similar to an amendment introduced last September by Senators 
Sessions and Pryor during debate for S. 1392. That amendment, in the 
words of Senator Sessions, would have ``require[d] the Energy 
Department, when conducting routine testing to verify product ratings, 
to rely on data submitted through voluntary, independent certification 
programs'' that satisfy a robust test of independence and transparency.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Whitfield) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2126, as amended.
  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. WELCH. 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, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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