III 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 548 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that high performance buildings improve 

the quality of life for millions of individuals, produce a more resilient 

and sustainable world for current and future generations, reduce operating costs, and improve the productivity, comfort, and health of occupants, and designating the week of June 11 through June 15, 2018, 

as ‘‘High Performance Building Week’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 14, 2018 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. GARDNER, Mrs. CAPITO, and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that high performance 

buildings improve the quality of life for millions of individuals, produce a more resilient and sustainable world 

for current and future generations, reduce operating 

costs, and improve the productivity, comfort, and health 

of occupants, and designating the week of June 11 

through June 15, 2018, as ‘‘High Performance Building 

Week’’. 

Whereas the term ‘‘high performance building’’ is defined in 

section 401 of the Energy Independence and Security Act 

of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17061) as ‘‘a building that integrates 

and optimizes on a life cycle basis all major high perVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Jun 14, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR548.IS SR548

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•SRES 548 IS 

formance attributes, including energy conservation, environment, safety, security, durability, accessibility, costbenefit, productivity, sustainability, functionality, and 

operational considerations’’; 

Whereas, because individuals spend approximately 90 percent 

of their time indoors and buildings are the single largest 

consumer of energy and water in the United States, built 

environments have a vast impact on virtually all aspects 

of life and national security in the United States; 

Whereas the United States benefits technologically, economically, and environmentally from innovative technologies 

developed for use in high performance buildings; 

Whereas research and programs that are supported by government entities and private industry and relate to high 

performance buildings benefit the United States and individuals in the United States; and 

Whereas investing in resilient and robust building systems 

protects individuals and businesses in the United States 

from the impacts of man-made disasters and natural disasters, such as hurricanes, snowstorms, tornadoes, 

wildland fires, floods, and earthquakes: Now, therefore, 

be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates the week of June 11 through 

3 June 15, 2018, as ‘‘High Performance Building 

4 Week’’; and 

5 (2) supports efforts to— 

6 (A) improve the performance of existing 

7 and future buildings through— 


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•SRES 548 IS 

1 (i) the adoption of best practices and 

2 voluntary consensus standards relating to 

3 commercial and residential buildings; and 

4 (ii) participation by interested parties 

5 in— 

6 (I) government programs, includ7 ing those at the Office of Energy Effi8 ciency and Renewable Energy of the 

9 Department of Energy; 

10 (II) public-private partnerships; 

11 and 

12 (III) private initiatives; 

13 (B) create awareness of the beneficial im14 pacts that high performance buildings have on 

15 communities, including reductions in operating 

16 costs, improvements in the health and produc17 tivity of occupants of high performance build18 ings, and enhancements in community resil19 iency; 

20 (C) encourage interested parties to engage 

21 in dialogues on innovative policies and pro22 grams relating to the build environment that 

23 address needs relating to resiliency, workforce 

24 development, and energy and water efficiency; 


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•SRES 548 IS 

1 (D) support investment in research and 

2 programs that incentivize investments in high 

3 performance commercial and residential build4 ings, as investment in high performance build5 ings is in the overall interests of the United 

6 States; and 

7 (E) invest in training and education for, 

8 and celebrate the work of, engineers, architects, 

9 builders, code officials, tradespeople, design pro10 fessionals, laborers, and others in the construc11 tion industry who work to advance high per12 formance buildings. 

Æ 


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