IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1407 
Supporting the goals and ideals of High-Performance Building Week. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 27, 2010 
Mrs. BIGGERT (for herself, Mr. CARNAHAN, Mr. KIRK, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. 
SCHOCK, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. BAIRD, and Ms. SCHWARTZ) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Science and 
Technology 
RESOLUTION 
Supporting the goals and ideals of High-Performance 
Building Week. 
Whereas the High-Performance Building Congressional Cau-
cus Coalition has declared the week of June 13 through 
June 19, 2010, as ‘‘High-Performance Building Week’’; 
Whereas the House of Representatives has recognized the im-
portance of high-performance buildings through the inclu-
sion of a definition of high-performance buildings in the 
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007; 
Whereas our homes, offices, schools, and other buildings con-
sume 40 percent of the primary energy and 70 percent 
of the electricity in the United States annually; 
Whereas buildings consume about 12 percent of the potable 
water in this country; 
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•HRES 1407 IH 
Whereas the construction of buildings and their related infra-
structure consumes approximately 60 percent of all raw 
materials used in the United States economy; 
Whereas buildings account for 39 percent of United States 
carbon dioxide emissions a year, approximately equaling 
the combined carbon emissions of Japan, France, and the 
United Kingdom; 
Whereas Americans spend about 90 percent of their time in-
doors; 
Whereas the value of all United States construction alone 
represents more than 13 percent of the Nation’s Gross 
Domestic Product and the value of the Nation’s struc-
tures is estimated at over $28 trillion; 
Whereas poor indoor environmental quality is detrimental to 
the health of all Americans, especially our children and 
the elderly; 
Whereas high-performance buildings promote higher student 
achievement by providing better lighting, a more com-
fortable indoor environment, and improved ventilation 
and indoor air quality; 
Whereas high-performance residential and commercial build-
ing design and construction should effectively guard 
against natural and human-caused events and disasters, 
including fire, water, wind, noise, crime, and terrorism; 
Whereas high-performance buildings, which address human, 
environmental, economic, and total societal impact, result 
from the application of the highest level of design, con-
struction, operation, and maintenance principles—a para-
digm change for the built environment; 
Whereas nearly 7,500,000 Americans are employed in the de-
sign, construction, operation, and maintenance sectors 
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•HRES 1407 IH 
and require education and training to achieve and main-
tain high performance; and 
Whereas the United States should continue to improve the 
features of new buildings and adapt and maintain exist-
ing buildings to changing balances in our needs and re-
sponsibilities for health, safety, energy and water effi-
ciency, and usability by all segments of society: Now, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the goals and ideals of High-Per-
formance Building Week; 
(2) recognizes and reaffirms our Nation’s com-
mitment to high-performance buildings by promoting 
awareness about their benefits and by promoting 
new education programs, supporting research, and 
expanding access to information; 
(3) recognizes the unique role that the Depart-
ment of Energy plays through the Office of Energy 
Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Building Tech-
nologies Program, which works closely with the 
building industry and manufacturers to conduct re-
search and development on technologies and prac-
tices for building energy efficiency; 
(4) recognizes the important role that the Na-
tional Institute of Standards and Technology plays 
in developing the measurement science needed to de-
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velop, test, integrate, and demonstrate the new 
building technologies; and 
(5) encourages further research and develop-
ment of high-performance building standards, re-
search, and development. 
Æ 
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