I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3371 

To produce high-performance Federal buildings through an improved approach to building utilization, design, construction, and operations and 

maintenance, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 4, 2011 

Mr. CARNAHAN (for himself, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. WELCH, Mr. 

QUIGLEY, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. 

EDWARDS, Mr. POLIS, Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. RYAN of 

Ohio, Mr. HONDA, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, and Ms. TSONGAS) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on 

Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To produce high-performance Federal buildings through an 

improved approach to building utilization, design, construction, and operations and maintenance, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘High-Performance Federal Buildings Act of 2011’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Consideration of life-cycle cost required. 

Sec. 3. Long-term savings through life-cycle cost analysis. 

Sec. 4. Building commissioning. 

Sec. 5. Integrated design processes and building information modeling. 

Sec. 6. Reporting of Federal building performance data. 

Sec. 7. Verification of compliance with requirements. 

Sec. 8. Availability of funds for design updates to meet standards. 

Sec. 9. Updating Federal building energy efficiency performance standards. 

Sec. 10. Establishing and updating Federal building water efficiency performance standards. 

3 SEC. 2. CONSIDERATION OF LIFE-CYCLE COST REQUIRED. 

4 (a) REQUIREMENT.—The head of a Federal depart5 ment or agency involved in the construction of a building 

6 described in subsection (b) shall ensure that the life-cycle 

7 cost of the building is considered during the design of the 

8 building. 

9 (b) FEDERAL BUILDINGS SUBJECT TO REQUIRE10 MENT.—A building is subject to the requirement under 

11 subsection (a) if— 

12 (1) construction of the building begins after the 

13 date of enactment of this Act; 

14 (2) the estimated construction costs of the 

15 building exceed $1,000,000; and 

16 (3) Federal funding comprises more than 50 

17 percent of the funding for the estimated construction 

18 costs of the building. 

19 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi20 nitions apply: 


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1 (1) LIFE-CYCLE COST.—The term ‘‘life-cycle 

2 cost’’ means the sum of the following costs, as esti3 mated for the lifetime of a building: 

4 (A) Investment costs. 

5 (B) Capital costs. 

6 (C) Installation costs. 

7 (D) Energy costs. 

8 (E) Operating costs. 

9 (F) Maintenance costs. 

10 (G) Replacement costs. 

11 (2) LIFETIME OF A BUILDING.—The term ‘‘life12 time of a building’’ means, with respect to a build13 ing, the greater of— 

14 (A) the period of time during which the 

15 building is projected to be utilized; or 

16 (B) 50 years. 

17 SEC. 3. LONG-TERM SAVINGS THROUGH LIFE-CYCLE COST 

18 ANALYSIS. 

19 Section 3307(b) of title 40, United States Code, is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (6) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

22 end; 

23 (2) in paragraph (7) by striking the period at 

24 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

25 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(8) with respect to any prospectus for the con2 struction, alteration, or acquisition of any building 

3 or space to be leased, a statement by the Adminis4 trator describing the use of life-cycle cost analysis 

5 and any increased design, construction, or acquisi6 tion costs identified by such analysis that are offset 

7 by lower long-term costs.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. BUILDING COMMISSIONING. 

9 (a) FEDERAL BUILDING COMMISSIONING STAND10 ARDS.—Not later than one year after the date of enact11 ment of this Act, the Administrator of General Services 

12 shall issue regulations establishing Federal building com13 missioning standards, modeled on existing private sector 

14 standards and guidelines, for— 

15 (1) the commissioning process generally; 

16 (2) the commissioning of individual building 

17 systems, including heating, ventilation, and air-con18 ditioning, building envelope, and fire protection and 

19 life safety systems; and 

20 (3) the use of building automation systems to 

21 perform ongoing commissioning of connected build22 ing systems. 

23 (b) REQUIREMENT.—With respect to each building 

24 constructed or altered by the Administrator or the head 

25 of any other Federal department or agency after the date 


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1 on which regulations are issued under paragraph (1), the 

2 Administrator or the head of such department or agency 

3 shall require commissioning with respect to such building 

4 that meets or exceeds the standards established under 

5 such regulations. 

6 (c) COMMISSIONING DEFINED.—In this section, the 

7 term ‘‘commissioning’’ means a process for examining and 

8 evaluating a building or individual building system for the 

9 purpose of verifying and delivering a building or system 

10 that meets the building owner’s requirements for use. 

11 SEC. 5. INTEGRATED DESIGN PROCESSES AND BUILDING 

12 INFORMATION MODELING. 

13 (a) INTEGRATED DESIGN PROCESSES AND BUILDING

14 INFORMATION MODELING.— 

15 (1) STUDY.—The Comptroller General, in con16 sultation with representatives of relevant profes17 sional societies and industry associations, shall con18 duct a study on the use of integrated design proc19 esses and building information modeling with respect 

20 to the design and construction of Federal buildings. 

21 (2) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller Gen23 eral shall submit to Congress a report on the results 

24 of the study conducted under paragraph (1), includ25 ing a description of— 


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1 (A) the legal, institutional, and other con2 straints on the use of integrated design proc3 esses and building information modeling by the 

4 Federal Government; 

5 (B) the likely impact of the use of inte6 grated design processes and building informa7 tion modeling on the procurement and budg8 eting process over the life of a facility; 

9 (C) the potential impact of the use of inte10 grated design processes and building informa11 tion modeling on private sector firms and an 

12 analysis of measures to mitigate any negative 

13 impacts on small businesses; 

14 (D) an analysis of the amount of product 

15 information that has building information mod16 eling profiles and what level of product profiles 

17 must be available in order for building informa18 tion modeling to be effectively used throughout 

19 the life of a facility; 

20 (E) an analysis of the benefits of the use 

21 of integrated design processes and building in22 formation modeling during the life cycle of a fa23 cility; and 

24 (F) recommendations for the development 

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1 struction of Federal buildings using integrated 

2 design processes and building information mod3 eling. 

4 (b) OFFICE OF FEDERAL HIGH-PERFORMANCE

5 GREEN BUILDINGS.—Not later than 90 days after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, the duties of the Director 

7 of the Office of Federal High-Performance Green Build8 ings shall include— 

9 (1) providing technical assistance and guidance 

10 to Federal departments and agencies with respect to 

11 the utilization of building information modeling, 

12 commissioning, and integrated design processes; 

13 (2) identification of best practices with respect 

14 to the utilization of building information modeling, 

15 commissioning, and integrated design processes, in16 cluding identifying appropriate case studies from the 

17 Federal Government and the private sector; 

18 (3) disseminating to Federal departments and 

19 agencies, State and local governments, and the pri20 vate sector, through a publically available Web-based 

21 system or other means, information on best practices 

22 identified under paragraph (2); and 

23 (4) identifying the research and technologies 

24 necessary to understand the interactions of building 


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1 systems and effectively predict the outcomes of such 

2 interactions. 

3 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi4 nitions apply: 

5 (1) BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING.—The 

6 term ‘‘building information modeling’’ means the de7 velopment and use of a computer-based model to 

8 document a building design and simulate the con9 struction and operation of a building with respect to 

10 which various users can extract and add information 

11 to generate feedback on and improve the building’s 

12 design, construction, operation, and maintenance. 

13 (2) COMMISSIONING.—The term ‘‘commis14 sioning’’ has the meaning given that term in section 

15 4(c) of this Act. 

16 (3) INTEGRATED DESIGN PROCESS.—The term 

17 ‘‘integrated design process’’ means a process for the 

18 design and construction of a building or space that 

19 involves the collaboration of architects, engineers, 

20 contractors, building owners, commissioning agents, 

21 occupants, management staff, and other appropriate 

22 personnel during all phases of the design and con23 struction of such building or space with the goal of 

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1 performance building characteristics identified at the 

2 beginning of the project. 

3 SEC. 6. REPORTING OF FEDERAL BUILDING PERFORMANCE 

4 DATA. 

5 Section 543 of the National Energy Conservation 

6 Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 8253) is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating the second subsection (f), 

8 as added by section 434(a) of the Energy Independ9 ence and Security Act of 2007 (Public Law 110– 

10 140), as subsection (g); and 

11 (2) in subsection (f) by adding at the end the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(12) REPORTING ON COMMISSIONING AND EN14 ERGY AND WATER SAVINGS MEASURES.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each energy manager 

16 shall submit the evaluations, commissioning re17 ports, plans, measurements, and verifications 

18 under paragraphs (3) and (5) to the Web-based 

19 system established under paragraph (7) or to 

20 another publicly available Web-based system 

21 identified by the Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(B) STANDARDIZING REPORTING FOR23 MATS.—Not later than one year after the date 

24 of enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary, 

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1 eral Services and representatives of relevant 

2 professional societies and industry associations, 

3 shall recognize or develop a standardized format 

4 for obtaining and submitting the information 

5 specified in subparagraph (A). 

6 ‘‘(13) ANNUAL REPORT ON FEDERAL BUILDING

7 ENERGY AND WATER CHARACTERISTICS.—Not later 

8 than one year after the date of enactment of this 

9 paragraph, and annually thereafter, the Secretary 

10 shall submit to Congress and other Federal depart11 ments and agencies, and make available to the pub12 lic, a report summarizing the energy use, water use, 

13 and high-performance attributes of Federal build14 ings, which shall include— 

15 ‘‘(A) energy use, water use, and green16 house gas emissions data by Department of En17 ergy climate zone, building type, primary build18 ing use, department or agency, and building 

19 vintage; 

20 ‘‘(B) data on total energy usage and en21 ergy usage by heating, ventilation, and air-con22 ditioning, water heating, lighting, plug-loads, 

23 and other subsystems; 

24 ‘‘(C) data on the energy, water, greenhouse 

25 gas emissions, and cost savings attributable to 


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1 compliance with relevant Federal law and the 

2 baseline used for a determination of such sav3 ings; 

4 ‘‘(D) a description of the requirements and 

5 programs relating to energy use, water use, or 

6 greenhouse gas emissions applicable to the de7 sign and operation of Federal buildings and the 

8 outcomes, including energy, water, greenhouse 

9 gas emissions, and cost savings, of such re10 quirements and programs (such requirements 

11 and programs include green building and en12 ergy rating systems and energy codes and 

13 standards); 

14 ‘‘(E) a description of the use of design or 

15 technological features that contribute to reduc16 tions in energy and water use, including fea17 tures relating to building controls, heating and 

18 cooling, ventilation, efficient lighting, lighting 

19 controls, daylighting, plumbing fixtures, water 

20 heating systems, food preparation equipment, 

21 building envelopes, orientation, site selection, 

22 integrated design, building information mod23 eling, commissioning, and other features deter24 mined appropriate for inclusion by the Sec25 retary; 


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1 ‘‘(F) a description of any lessons learned 

2 from and case studies included in the informa3 tion submitted under paragraph (12); 

4 ‘‘(G) a description of the characteristics of 

5 high-performance buildings and high-perform6 ance green buildings, as such terms are defined 

7 under section 401 of the Energy Independence 

8 and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17061), 

9 including with respect to— 

10 ‘‘(i) indoor environmental quality; 

11 ‘‘(ii) air and water pollution; 

12 ‘‘(iii) waste generation; 

13 ‘‘(iv) impacts on transportation due to 

14 building location and site design; 

15 ‘‘(v) safety, security, and resiliency at16 tributes; 

17 ‘‘(vi) historic preservation; and 

18 ‘‘(vii) operation and functionality 

19 characteristics; and 

20 ‘‘(H) additional information determined 

21 appropriate for inclusion by the Secretary.’’. 

22 SEC. 7. VERIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH REQUIRE23 MENTS. 

24 (a) POSTCONSTRUCTION REPORTING.—Not later 

25 than one year after the date of substantial completion of 


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1 the construction or alteration of a building, the construc2 tion or alteration of which was approved under section 

3 3307(a) of title 40, United States Code, and biennially 

4 thereafter, the Administrator of General Services shall 

5 submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infra6 structure of the House of Representatives, the Committee 

7 on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, and the 

8 Director of the Office of Management and Budget a report 

9 with respect to such building demonstrating compliance 

10 with requirements under part 3 of title V of the National 

11 Energy Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 8251 et seq.), 

12 subtitle II of title 40, United States Code, subtitle F of 

13 title I of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 8262 

14 et seq.), sections 305 and 306 of the Energy Conservation 

15 and Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6834 and 6835), and other 

16 laws and regulations relating to the design, construction, 

17 and alteration of public buildings. 

18 (b) VERIFICATION OF POSTCONSTRUCTION REPORT19 ING.—Not later than one year after the date of enactment 

20 of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management and 

21 Budget, in consultation with representatives of relevant 

22 private sector organizations, shall recognize or develop 

23 mechanisms for the measurement and verification of com24 pliance with the requirements specified under subsection 

25 (a). 


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1 (c) INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each Inspector General ap3 pointed under the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 

4 U.S.C. App.) shall conduct reviews of the depart5 ment or agency applicable to such Inspector General 

6 with respect to the compliance, and cost savings at7 tributable to the compliance, of such department or 

8 agency with requirements under part 3 of title V of 

9 the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (42 

10 U.S.C. 8251 et seq.), subtitle II of title 40, United 

11 States Code, and other laws and regulations relating 

12 to the design, construction, and alteration of public 

13 buildings, to the extent that such reviews are not in14 consistent with the performance of the required du15 ties of such Inspector General. 

16 (2) TIMING.—Reviews under paragraph (1) 

17 shall be conducted at least biennially by each Inspec18 tor General, unless the applicable department or 

19 agency has not engaged in the design, construction, 

20 or alteration of a public building and has not pro21 vided for the operation and maintenance of a public 

22 building since the last such review of such depart23 ment or agency. 

24 (3) TRANSMISSION OF REPORTS.—Each Inspec25 tor General shall submit to the Director of the OfVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:54 Nov 09, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3371.IH H3371

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1 fice of Management and Budget, the Secretary of 

2 Energy, the Committee on Appropriations of the 

3 House of Representatives, and the Committee on 

4 Appropriations of the Senate a report on each review 

5 conducted under paragraph (1) by that Inspector 

6 General. The Secretary of Energy shall include re7 ports submitted to the Secretary under this para8 graph in the annual report required under section 

9 543(f)(13) of the National Energy Conservation Pol10 icy Act (as added by section 6 of this Act). 

11 SEC. 8. AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR DESIGN UPDATES TO 

12 MEET STANDARDS. 

13 With respect to a building or space receiving approval 

14 under section 3307(a) of title 40, United States Code, the 

15 design of which has been substantially completed but the 

16 construction of which has not yet begun, the Adminis17 trator may use amounts from the Federal Building Fund 

18 Capital Account to update the design of such building or 

19 space to meet Federal building energy and water efficiency 

20 standards. With respect to each such building or space, 

21 amounts used under this section may not exceed 125 per22 cent of the estimated energy, water, operations and main23 tenance, and other cost savings determined to be associ24 ated with the applicable design update by a life-cycle cost 

25 analysis. 


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1 SEC. 9. UPDATING FEDERAL BUILDING ENERGY EFFI2 CIENCY PERFORMANCE STANDARDS. 

3 Subparagraph (B) of section 305(a)(3) of the Energy 

4 Conservation and Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6834(a)(3)) 

5 is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(B) Not later than one year after the date of ap7 proval of each subsequent revision of the ASHRAE Stand8 ard or the International Energy Conservation Code, the 

9 ASHRAE Standard or the International Energy Con10 servation Code specified in subparagraph (A)(i)(I) shall be 

11 treated as updated to the revised version unless the Sec12 retary has determined that, based on cost effectiveness, 

13 the percentage identified in such subparagraph should be 

14 adjusted.’’. 

15 SEC. 10. ESTABLISHING AND UPDATING FEDERAL BUILD16 ING WATER EFFICIENCY PERFORMANCE 

17 STANDARDS. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 2 years after 

19 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, 

20 in consultation with appropriate Federal departments and 

21 agencies and relevant codes and standards development 

22 organizations, shall issue regulations establishing Federal 

23 building water efficiency standards that require Federal 

24 buildings constructed after the date on which such regula25 tions are issued to incorporate water efficiency measures 

26 that are technologically feasible and economically justified. 


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1 (b) CONTENTS.—The standards established under 

2 subsection (a) shall— 

3 (1) include water efficiency measures that meet 

4 or exceed the water efficiency measures of national 

5 consensus-based minimum plumbing codes published 

6 as of the date of enactment of this Act; and 

7 (2) to the extent practicable, use the same for8 mat as such codes. 

9 (c) UPDATES.—At least once every 3 years, the Sec10 retary shall review the Federal building water efficiency 

11 standards established under subsection (a) and, if signifi12 cant water savings would result, shall revise such stand13 ards to include additional water efficiency measures that 

14 are technologically feasible and economically justified. 

15 (d) CONSIDERATIONS.—In considering revisions 

16 under subsection (c), the Secretary shall consider any 

17 water-related provisions of the most recent versions of na18 tional consensus-based above-minimum plumbing codes. 

Æ 


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