The Better Buildings Act of 2014 () is a bill that would amend federal law aimed at improving the

energy efficiency Energy efficiency may refer to: * Energy efficiency (physics), the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion process ** Electrical efficiency, useful power output per electrical power consumed ** Mechanical efficiency, a ra ...

of commercial office buildings. The bill would also create a program called "Tenant Star" similar to the existing

ENERGY STAR Energy Star (trademarked ''ENERGY STAR'') is a program run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that promotes energy efficiency. The program provides information on the energy consumption of pr ...

program. The program would be a voluntary one. The bill would also require the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

to work with the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...

to develop guidelines and models that would help landlords and their tenants work together to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings. The bill was introduced into the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

during the

113th United States Congress The 113th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2013, to January 3, 2015, during the fifth and sixth years of Barack Obama's presidency. It was composed of the ...

Provisions of the bill

''This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the

Congressional Research Service The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a ...

, a

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

source.'' The Better Buildings Act of 2013 would require the

Administrator of General Services The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gove ...

(GSA) to develop and publish model leasing provisions for use in leasing documents that designate a federal agency as a landlord or tenant to encourage building owners and tenants to invest in cost-effective energy efficiency measures. The bill would require the Administrator to: (1) develop policies and best practices to implement such measures for the realty services provided by the Administrator to federal agencies, including periodic training of federal employees and contractors on how to identify and evaluate such measures; and (2) make available such model leasing provisions and best practices to state, county, and municipal governments that manage owned and leased building space to encourage investment in such energy efficiency measures. The bill would amend the

Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007Pub.L. 110-140, originally named the Clean Energy Act of 2007, is an Act of Congress concerning the energy policy of the United States. As part of the Democratic Party's 100-Hour Plan during th ...

to require the

's (DOE) Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to study the feasibility of: (1) significantly improving energy efficiency in commercial buildings through the design and construction of separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures, and (2) encouraging owners and tenants to implement such measures in separate spaces. Requires the Secretary to publish such study on DOE's website. The bill would require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop a voluntary Tenant Star program within the ENERGY STAR program to recognize tenants in commercial buildings that voluntarily achieve high levels of energy efficiency in separate spaces. Requires DOE's Administrator of the Energy Information Administration to collect data on categories of building occupancy that consume significant quantities of energy and on other aspects of the property, building operation, or building occupancy determined to be relevant to lowering energy consumption. Prohibits the impact on climate change from being a factor in determining energy efficiency of commercial building tenants.

Congressional Budget Office report

''This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the

Congressional Budget Office The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the United States Congress, legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress. Ins ...

, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on January 28, 2014. This is a

source.'' H.R. 2126 would amend federal law aimed at improving the

of commercial office buildings. The legislation would require the

(GSA) to develop model leasing provisions to encourage energy efficiency in privately owned buildings with federal tenants. The bill also would establish a program similar to the Environmental Protection Agency’s

program to promote energy efficiency in buildings leased to the federal government. Finally, the bill would require the

(DOE) to prepare a report to the Congress on energy efficiency in commercial buildings. Since the 1970s, many laws and policies have been enacted to reduce energy consumption. According to the GSA, most of the provisions of the bill are broadly consistent with existing law and practices. As a result,

(CBO) does not expect that enacting H.R. 2126 would significantly affect agencies’ administrative costs or result in significant additional investments by the federal government in energy savings initiatives. Optimizing the use of energy conservation measures in buildings leased by the government could eventually reduce federal spending by lowering occupancy costs, but CBO does not expect agencies would realize any significant savings from such efforts during the next few years. Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore,

pay-as-you-go Pay as you go or PAYG may refer to: Finance * Pay-as-you-go tax, or pay-as-you-earn tax * Pay-as-you-go pension plan * PAYGO, the practice in the US of financing expenditures with current funds rather than borrowing * PAUG, a structured financia ...

procedures do not apply. H.R. 2126 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA''(pdf)https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-1995-title2/html/USCODE-1995-title2-chap25.htm (text)] restricts the federal government of the United States, federal imposition of unfunded mandates on ...

and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.

Procedural history

The Better Buildings Act of 2013 was introduced into the

on May 23, 2013 by David McKinley, Rep. David B. McKinley (R, WV-1). It was referred to the

United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce The Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name changes and jurisdictional changes—for more tha ...

and the

United States House Energy Subcommittee on Energy and Power The Subcommittee on Energy and Power is a subcommittee within the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce. It was formed during the 112th Congress The 112th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the Unit ...

. It was reported (amended) alongside House Report 113-371 on February 28, 2014. On February 29, 2014, House Majority Leader

Eric Cantor Eric Ivan Cantor (born June 6, 1963) is an American lawyer and former politician who represented Virginia's 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2014. A Republican, Cantor served as House Minori ...

announced that H.R. 2126 would be considered under a

suspension of the rules In parliamentary procedure, a suspension of the rules allows a deliberative assembly to set aside its normal rules to do something that it could not do otherwise. However, there are rules that cannot be suspended. Explanation of use Rules are ess ...

on March 4, 2014.

Debate and discussion

The

U.S. Green Building Council The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), co-founded by Mike Italiano, David Gottfried and Rick Fedrizzi in 1993, is a private 501(c)3, membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and op ...

was involved in organizing and supporting this bill. McKinley argued in favor of the bill, saying that "finding ways to use energy efficiently is common sense. We ought to be promoting efficiency as a way to save energy, money and create jobs."

Notes/References

External links