SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) There are 26.8 million small business con-
cerns in the United States, and they are the back-
bone of the American economy. However, small busi-
ness concerns face overwhelming obstacles in ad-
dressing climate change issues, such as reducing 
their carbon footprint while balancing business needs 
to remain economically competitive. 
(2) The United States Government is the larg-
est purchaser of goods and services in the world and 
plays a large role in influencing the overall business 
marketplace. In 2006, the United States Govern-
ment spent over $417 billion on goods and services 
in 8.3 million separate contract actions. Small busi-
ness concerns won approximately $80 billion in con-
tracts which is about 21.5 percent of the remaining 
prime contracts. 
(3) The Small Business Act of 1953 specified 
that small business concerns should be given every 
opportunity to compete fairly for the award of Fed-
eral contracts. Congress has long recognized the 
value of small business concerns because they are 
important sources of job creation and economic 
growth; however, small business concerns are typi-
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
21:58 Feb 14, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5402.IH
H5402
hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
cally disadvantaged in competing against large 
firms. 
(4) The United States Environmental Protec-
tion Agency has created a directory to help small 
business concerns access financial services by State 
or service type (i.e. loans, consulting, credit, etc.) to 
help small business concerns achieve energy effi-
ciency through their Energy Star Small Business— 
Financial Resources Directory. 
(5) The fusion of a powerful purchasing mecha-
nism with green business practices provides a small 
business concern with significant incentives and op-
portunities for market penetration of environ-
mentally preferable products, for the development of 
green services, and for the adoption of green prac-
tices in their own facilities. 
(6) Many small business concerns have taken 
the first step in incorporating sustainable practices 
into their own business, however small business con-
cerns face obstacles in comparing the cost, perform-
ance, and life cycle environmental impacts of alter-
natives. Most small business concerns do not have 
the scientific and technical capability to fully assess 
the issues and choices to address the impact of cli-
mate change. In addition, small business concerns 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
21:58 Feb 14, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5402.IH
H5402
hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
offering green products and services often face bar-
riers to market acceptance of environmentally pref-
erable products and services when competing with 
products or service practices that have long-standing 
market penetration. 
(7) It is vital for the competitiveness of the 
United States that small business concerns, includ-
ing small, minority-owned, women-owned, historically 
underutilized businesses (HUBZones), and veteran- 
owned small business concerns be provided greater 
opportunity to become a procurement source for 
goods and services to Federal agencies. It is also 
critical that small business concerns be encouraged 
to develop and supply environmentally sound prod-
ucts and services. 
(8) By utilizing new energy efficient tech-
nologies and whole building design practices, small 
business concerns can save in long-term operating 
costs, become more competitive, improve the produc-
tivity and health of employees, and reduce their car-
bon footprint. 
(9) In the National Small Business Associa-
tion’s 2006 energy survey, the majority of owners of 
small business concerns said they have been affected 
by rising energy prices and that reducing energy 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
21:58 Feb 14, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5402.IH
H5402
hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
costs would increase profitability. At the same time, 
over half of these entrepreneurs have not invested in 
energy efficient programs for their small business 
concerns. 
(10) There are many ways to increase energy 
efficiency. For example, an owner of a small busi-
ness concern who replaces twenty 100-watt incandes-
cent bulbs with 27-watt compact fluorescent bulbs 
would pay $400 up-front, but save $980 over one 
year. 
(11) Today, buildings account for more than a 
third of the carbon emissions in the United States. 
Whole building design practices, also known as green 
buildings, have a positive effect on the reduction of 
green house gases and the health of the environ-
ment, increase production of workers, and improve 
the water supply for communities. Studies have 
shown— 
(A) a 2 to 16 percent increase in produc-
tivity in buildings that incorporate whole build-
ing design practices; and 
(B) that an up-front investment of 2 per-
cent in whole building design practices, on aver-
age, results in life cycle savings of 20 percent 
of the total construction costs. 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
21:58 Feb 14, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5402.IH
H5402
hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS
(12) Some of the tools that a small business 
concern could use to design are— 
(A) green roofs, vegetated roof systems 
that passively perform no less than eight highly 
beneficial and cost-saving functions; 
(B) daylighting, because people respond, 
concentrate, and think better with diffuse, full- 
spectrum light provided by the sun; 
(C) on-site renewable energy, produced 
from fuels that have a stable, predictable supply 
such as solar, wind, biomass, and ground 
sources; 
(D) natural ventilation, which can replace 
all or part of mechanical ventilation systems, 
improving indoor air quality and occupant com-
fort; and 
(E) integrated design, the method by 
which the design team identifies systems early 
in the process to provide a coordinated imple-
mentation of efficiency and building methods, 
realizing an exponential gain in savings and 
comfort. 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
21:58 Feb 14, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5402.IH
H5402
hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with BILLS