I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3221 
To authorize the Secretary of Energy to provide loan guarantees for energy 
efficiency upgrades to existing buildings. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 14, 2011 
Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Mr. CARNAHAN, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. COURTNEY, 
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. OLVER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. CONYERS, and Mr. 
WELCH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of Energy to provide loan guaran-
tees for energy efficiency upgrades to existing buildings. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Job Creation and En-
ergy Efficiency Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. LOAN PROGRAM FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY UP-
GRADES TO EXISTING BUILDINGS. 
Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 
U.S.C. 16511 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘SEC. 1706. BUILDING RETROFIT FINANCING PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) CREDIT SUPPORT.—The term ‘credit sup-
port’ means a guarantee or commitment to issue a 
guarantee or other forms of credit enhancement to 
ameliorate risks for efficiency obligations. 
‘‘(2) EFFICIENCY OBLIGATION.—The term ‘effi-
ciency obligation’ means a debt or repayment obliga-
tion incurred in connection with financing a project, 
or a portfolio of such debt or repayment obligations. 
‘‘(3) PROJECT.—The term ‘project’ means the 
installation and implementation of efficiency, ad-
vanced metering, distributed generation, or renew-
able energy technologies and measures for a building 
(or for multiple buildings on a given property) that 
are expected to increase the energy efficiency of the 
building (including fixtures) in accordance with cri-
teria established by the Secretary. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sections 
1703 and 1705, the Secretary may provide credit 
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support under this section, in accordance with sec-
tion 1702. 
‘‘(2) INCLUSIONS.—Buildings eligible for credit 
support under this section include commercial, mul-
tifamily residential, industrial, municipal, govern-
ment, institution of higher education, school, and 
hospital facilities that satisfy criteria established by 
the Secretary. 
‘‘(c) GUIDELINES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec-
retary shall— 
‘‘(A) establish guidelines for credit support 
provided under this section; 
‘‘(B) publish the guidelines in the Federal 
Register; and 
‘‘(C) provide for an opportunity for public 
comment on the guidelines. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The guidelines estab-
lished by the Secretary under this subsection shall 
include— 
‘‘(A) standards for assessing the energy 
savings that could reasonably be expected to re-
sult from a project; 
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‘‘(B) examples of financing mechanisms 
(and portfolios of such financing mechanisms) 
that qualify as efficiency obligations; 
‘‘(C) the threshold levels of energy savings 
that a project, at the time of issuance of credit 
support, shall be reasonably expected to achieve 
to be eligible for credit support; 
‘‘(D) the eligibility criteria the Secretary 
determines to be necessary for making credit 
support available under this section; and 
‘‘(E) notwithstanding subsections (d)(3) 
and (g)(2)(B) of section 1702, any lien priority 
requirements that the Secretary determines to 
be necessary, in consultation with the Director 
of the Office of Management and Budget, which 
may include— 
‘‘(i) mechanisms to preserve prior lien 
positions of mortgage lenders and other 
creditors in buildings eligible for credit 
support; 
‘‘(ii) remedies available to the Sec-
retary under chapter 176 of title 28, 
United States Code, in the event of default 
on the efficiency obligation by the bor-
rower; and 
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