IV

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 280

To provide for the development and implementation of a comprehensive energy

conservation plan for the United States Congress.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 21, 1998

Mr. GUTIERREZ (for himself, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. EVANS, Ms. FURSE, Mr.

OLVER, Mr. SKAGGS, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mr. ABERCROMBIE,

Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. UNDERWOOD, Mr. WAXMAN,

and Mr. LIPINSKI) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which

was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

To provide for the development and implementation of a

comprehensive energy conservation plan for the United

States Congress.

Whereas Congress passed the National Energy Conservation

Policy Act (NECPA) in 1978 to provide major policy

guidance to Federal agencies to improve energy management in their facilities and operations;

Whereas Congress amended NECPA in 1988 through the

Federal Energy Management Improvement Act, and

required each Federal agency to achieve a 10 percent reduction in energy consumption in its Federal buildings by

fiscal year 1995, when measured against a fiscal year

1985 baseline on a Btu-per-gross-square-foot basis,
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Whereas the Federal Energy Management Improvement Act

directed the Department of Energy to establish life cycle

costing methods and coordinate Federal conservation activities through the Interagency Energy Management

Task Force;

Whereas Congress amended NECPA in 1992 through the

Energy Policy Act (EPACT), which contains provisions

regarding energy management requirements, life cycle

cost methods and procedures, budget treatment for energy conservation measures, incentives for Federal facility energy managers, reporting requirements, new technology demonstrations and agency surveys of energy saving potential, and required a minimum 20 percent energy

reduction in Btu-per-gross-square-foot energy costs by

fiscal year 2000 as compared with energy consumption in

fiscal year 1985;

Whereas President Clinton issued Executive Order 12902 on

March 8, 1994, which expanded the scope of Federal energy management and established a 30 percent reduction

goal in energy costs for Federal buildings and a 20 percent goal for industrial facilities by 2005 as compared to

1985 consumption levels on a Btu-per-gross-square foot

basis;

Whereas Congress passed the Congressional Accountability

Act in 1995 to ensure that Congress and its Members

comply with the laws Congress mandates for our Nation;

Whereas Congress does not comply with the energy conservation standards it has established for Federal agencies;

Whereas Congress expended $32,733,024 in 1997 on energy

costs and has witnessed greater energy expenditures each

year during the past 7 years;
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Whereas the Architect of the Capitol should be commended

for the completion of several energy conservation projects

on the congressional campus during the past 5 years that

have saved taxpayers significant resources;

Whereas a number of the Architect of the Capitol’s projects

to conserve energy have been delayed and frustrated because Congress has not appropriated adequate resources

in a timely manner for crucial projects to be completed;

Whereas Congress should set an example for the Nation by

implementing a comprehensive, efficient, and cost-effective long-term energy conservation program for all buildings and facilities under its administration; and

Whereas Congress should comply with the energy conservation standards it has established for Federal agencies,

save taxpayers’ dollars, and reduce its contribution to air

pollution and the disbursement of greenhouse gases

through energy conservation: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That the Architect of the Capitol—

3 (1) shall develop and implement a cost-effective

4 energy conservation strategy for all facilities cur5 rently administered by Congress to achieve a net re6 duction of 20 percent in energy consumption on the

7 congressional campus compared to fiscal year 1991

8 consumption levels on a Btu-per-gross-square-foot

9 basis not later than 7 years after the adoption of

10 this resolution;
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1 (2) shall submit to Congress no later than 10

2 months after the adoption of this resolution a com3 prehensive energy conservation and management

4 plan which includes life cycle costs methods to deter5 mine the cost-effectiveness of proposed energy effi6 ciency projects;

7 (3) shall submit to the Committee on Appro8 priations in the Senate and the House of Represent9 atives a request for the amount of appropriations

10 necessary to carry out this resolution;

11 (4) shall present to Congress annually a report

12 on congressional energy management and conserva13 tion programs which details energy expenditures for

14 each facility, energy management and conservation

15 projects, and future priorities to ensure compliance

16 with the requirements of this resolution;

17 (5) shall perform energy surveys of all congres18 sional buildings and update such surveys as needed;

19 (6) shall use such surveys to determine the cost

20 and payback period of energy and water conserva21 tion measures likely to achieve the required energy

22 consumption levels;

23 (7) shall install energy and water conservation

24 measures that will achieve the requirements through
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1 previously determined life cycle cost methods and

2 procedures;

3 (8) may contract with nongovernmental entities

4 and employ private sector capital to finance energy

5 conservation projects and achieve energy consump6 tion targets;

7 (9) may develop innovative contracting methods

8 that will attract private sector funding for the instal9 lation of energy-efficient and renewable energy tech10 nology to meet the requirements of this resolution;

11 (10) may participate in the Department of En12 ergy’s Financing Renewable Energy and Efficiency

13 (FREE Savings) contracts program for Federal

14 Government facilities; and

15 (11) shall produce information packages and

16 ‘‘how-to’’ guides for each Member and employing au17 thority of the Congress that detail simple, cost-effec18 tive methods to save energy and taxpayer dollars.

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