Making Businesses and Homes More Energy-Efficient (S. 720)
Do you support or oppose this bill?
What is S. 720?
(Updated January 22, 2019)
This bill aims to create a national energy efficiency strategy by promoting upgrades to residential and commercial buildings that would reduce energy costs. It would also create a program to train workers on the processes involved in retrofitting and operating energy efficient commercial buildings.
In spite of this broad support (across the aisle and from some 270 environmental advocacy groups and business trade organizations) previous versions of this bill have failed to pass beyond the amendment process.
Argument in favor
The government has a role to play in fostering energy efficiency projects in the public and private sectors. Spending money on these projects will save money and conserve resources in the long run.
Argument opposed
If the financial benefits of these energy efficiency projects are so obvious, businesses and homeowners should be able to undertake them without the assistance of the government.
Impact
Homeowners; businesses; state and local planning departments; Small Business Administration (SBA); Department of Energy (DOE); General Services Administration (GSA); and The Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Cost of S. 720
A CBO cost estimate of this version of the bill is unavailable. However, Bloomberg reports that this version will likely cost $350 million over five years. The National Resource Defense Council offers a more precise, but similar estimate at $357 million over that period. This represents a decrease from a previous iteration of this legislation that was projected to cost $600 million. The change is caused by the elimination of a program that would have financed commercial energy efficiency improvements.
Additional Info
In Depth: This directs the DOE Secretary to help update national building codes to promote energy efficiency. While trying to meet energy saving goals, these updates should also encourage and support of state and local governments in adopting building codes that meet or exceed the national codes for energy efficiency.
It would provide funding for grants to establish training and assessment
centers at higher education institutions. These would be used to
identify concepts and technologies for improving a building’s energy
performance. DOE grants would also be offered to
eligible nonprofit partnerships to pay the federal share of career
skills training for students obtaining a certification to install energy
efficient technologies.
The head of the SBA would be required to streamline the consideration of applications from eligible small businesses for loans under the Small Business Act. These applicants would be empowered to implement recommendations of the industrial research and assessment centers.
The Secretary would also have to set goals for reducing waste, conserving natural resources, and preventing pollution — while also issuing guidance for federal agencies to employ advanced tools that promote energy efficiency.The
GSA would be authorized to update
building designs to meet energy efficiency guidelines for projects that
have received congressional funding.
The OMB would be required to develop and publish a
goal for the total amount of increased productivity, in addition to
energy and cost savings from the consolidation of federal data centers
during the next five years. The Department of Defense (DOD) would be
exempted from this goal.
Media:
- Sponsoring Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) Press Release
- Bloomberg
- ThinkProgress
- Natural Resources Defense Council Issue Brief (In Favor)
- The Heritage Foundation (Opposed)
(Photo Credit: US News)
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