Definition: In this task, you are given text for US Congressional and California state bills, your task is to generate a summary for this bill.
Input: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ''Climate Change Center and
Clearinghouse Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds the following:
(1) There are 26.8 million small business concerns in the
United States, and they are the backbone of the American
economy. However, small business concerns face overwhelming
obstacles in addressing climate change issues, such as reducing
their carbon footprint while balancing business needs to remain
economically competitive.
(2) The United States Government is the largest purchaser
of goods and services in the world and plays a large role in
influencing the overall business marketplace. In 2006, the
United States Government spent over $417 billion on goods and
services in 8.3 million separate contract actions. Small
business concerns won approximately $80 billion in contracts
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 Federal 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 typically disadvantaged in
competing against large firms.
(4) The United States Environmental Protection 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 efficiency through their Energy Star Small
Business--Financial Resources Directory.
(5) The fusion of a powerful purchasing mechanism with
green business practices provides a small business concern with
significant incentives and opportunities for market penetration
of environmentally preferable products, for the development of
green services, and for the adoption of green practices 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 concerns face obstacles in comparing the
cost, performance, and life cycle environmental impacts of
alternatives. Most small business concerns do not have the
scientific and technical capability to fully assess the issues
and choices to address the impact of climate change. In
addition, small business concerns offering green products and
services often face barriers to market acceptance of
environmentally preferable 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, including 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 products and services.
(8) By utilizing new energy efficient technologies and
whole building design practices, small business concerns can
save in long-term operating costs, become more competitive,
improve the productivity and health of employees, and reduce
their carbon footprint.
(9) In the National Small Business Association'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 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 business concern who replaces
twenty 100-watt incandescent 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 environment, increase production of workers, and improve
the water supply for communities. Studies have shown--
(A) a 2 to 16 percent increase in productivity in
buildings that incorporate whole building design
practices; and
(B) that an up-front investment of 2 percent in
whole building design practices, on average, results in
life cycle savings of 20 percent of the total
construction costs.
(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 comfort; and
(E) integrated design, the method by which the
design team identifies systems early in the process to
provide a coordinated implementation of efficiency and
building methods, realizing an exponential gain in
savings and comfort.

SEC. 3. OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY, AND CLIMATE CHANGE.

The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended by
redesignating section 37 as section 38, and by inserting after section
36 the following:

''SEC. 38. OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY, AND CLIMATE CHANGE.

''(a) Establishment.--There is established within the Small
Business Administration an office to be known as the Office of
Environment, Energy, and Climate Change headed by an Assistant
Administrator for Environment, Energy, and Climate Change, who shall be
appointed by, and report to, the Administrator of the Small Business
Administration.
''(b) Duties.--The Office of Environment, Energy, and Climate
Change shall--
''(1) oversee and administer the Climate Change Center and
Clearinghouse established under subsection (c);
''(2) promote energy efficiency efforts for small business
concerns;
''(3) promote efforts to reduce energy costs of small
business concerns; and
''(4) oversee efforts by small business concerns to develop
renewable energy technologies.
''(c) Climate Change Center and Clearinghouse.--
''(1) Establishment.--There is established within the
Office of Environment, Energy, and Climate Change an office to
be known as the Climate Change Center and Clearinghouse
(hereinafter in this section referred to as the 'Center').
''(2) Duties of the center.--The Center shall--
''(A) provide scientific, economic, and technical
information to small business concerns on--
''(i) assessing and managing the technical,
economic, and business impacts of climate
change; and
''(ii) cost savings and revenue gains made
possible through carbon credit trading
opportunities and Federal and State renewable
energy and energy efficiency tax relief
programs, purchase incentives, and rebate
programs;
''(B) ensure that the information described in
subparagraph (A) is available to small business
concerns by--
''(i) placing the information on a website
accessible by small business concerns; and
''(ii) developing and carrying out
nationwide workshops for small business
concerns, with such workshops recorded and made
available to small business concerns on a
website and, if practicable, broadcast live on
the internet;
''(C) coordinate any efforts which are undertaken
by the Department of Energy's Ombudsman, the
Environmental Protection Agency's Small Business
Ombudsman, the National Institute of Standards and
Technology's Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the
Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement
Ombudsman, the Office of Small and Disadvantaged
Business Utilization within each Federal agency having
procurement powers, and other appropriate Federal
departments and agencies to provide technical,
scientific, and engineering support to small business
concerns for the purpose of maintaining competitiveness
while--
''(i) developing green products or
services;
''(ii) implementing green business
practices; or
''(iii) reducing the amount of pollution
produced by the small business concern;
''(D) develop a baseline study--
''(i) that provides a broad analysis that
aggregates small business energy consumption
and emissions;
''(ii) that includes, but is not limited
to, an analysis of the energy consumption and
greenhouse gas emissions from processes,
practices, and product developments of small
business concerns;
''(iii) the development of which the Center
shall coordinate with similar efforts
undertaken by other Federal agencies; and
''(iv) which upon completion is made
available to the public on a website.
''(E) raise awareness among small business concerns
of the information, technical support, and network
opportunities made available through the Energy Star
Program to reduce energy waste and energy costs;
''(F) develop a carbon footprint website that
contains--
''(i) educational and technical information
on how small business concerns can reduce their
carbon footprint;
''(ii) links to tools and information
relating to carbon footprints available on
other websites; and
''(iii) a carbon footprint calculator which
can calculate a rough estimate of a small
business concern's carbon emissions based on,
but not limited to, the concern's electricity
usage, heating fuel usage, and fleet mileage;
and
''(G) develop a marketing plan and coordinate with
the Office of Small Business Development Centers to
raise awareness among small business concerns of the
Center's duties and available resources.
''(3) Duties of the heads of departments and agencies.--The
head of each Federal department or agency shall provide
information to the Center, upon request, unless otherwise
prohibited by law.
''(d) Interagency Working Group.--
''(1) In general.--The President shall establish an
interagency working group, which shall be co-chaired by the
Assistant Administrator for Environment, Energy, and Climate
Change and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency and shall include representatives from--
''(A) the National Institute of Standards and
Technology;
''(B) the Department of Energy;
''(C) the Department of Transportation;
''(D) the Office of Small Business Development
Centers;
''(E) small business concerns; and
''(F) any additional agency that the President may
designate.
''(2) Advisors.--The co-chairs of the interagency working
group may appoint representatives from environmental groups and
groups concerned with climate change to advise the working
group.
''(3) Duties.--The interagency working group shall--
''(A) establish goals and priorities for the
Center; and
''(B) provide for interagency coordination,
including budget coordination, of activities undertaken
by the Center.
''(e) Definitions.--
''(1) Green products or services and green business
practices.--The Administrator of the Small Business
Administration shall, in consultation with the Environmental
Protection Agency, the General Services Administration, and
other appropriate Federal departments and agencies, specify a
detailed definition for the terms 'green products or services'
and 'green business practices' for purposes of this section.
''(2) Greenhouse gas.--For purposes of this section, the
term 'greenhouse gas' means--
''(A) carbon dioxide;
''(B) methane;
''(C) nitrous oxide;
''(D) hydrofluorocarbons;
''(E) perfluorocarbons; or
''(F) sulfur hexafluoride.
''(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this
section.''.
Output:
Climate Change Center and Clearinghouse Act of 2008 - Amends the Small Business Act to establish: (1) the Office of Environment, Energy, and Climate Change within the Small Business Administration (SBA); and (2) the Climate Change Center and Clearinghouse within such Office.

Requires the Office to: (1) oversee and administer the Center; (2) promote energy efficiency efforts for, and efforts to reduce energy costs of, small businesses; and (3) oversee efforts by small businesses to develop renewable energy technologies.

Requires the Center to: (1) provide information to small businesses on assessing and managing the impacts of climate change and on cost savings and revenue gains possible through carbon credit trading opportunities and federal and state renewable energy and energy efficiency tax relief programs, purchase incentives, and rebate programs; (2) ensure that such information is provided to small businesses on an accessible website and through nationwide workshops; (3) coordinate federal agency efforts to provide support to small businesses for the purpose of maintaining competitiveness while developing green products or services, implementing green business practices, or reducing pollution; (4) develop a baseline study that provides a broad analysis that aggregates small business energy consumption and emissions; (5) raise awareness among small businesses of the information, technical support, and network opportunities made available through the Energy Star Program to reduce energy waste and energy costs; (6) develop a carbon footprint website that contains information on how small business concerns can reduce their carbon footprint, links to other carbon footprint websites, and a calculator for obtaining an estimate of a small business's carbon emissions based on electricity usage, heating fuel usage, and fleet mileage; and (7) develop a marketing plan.

Directs: (1) the President to establish an interagency working group to establish goals and priorities for the Center and to provide for interagency coordination of Center activities; and (2) the Administrator of SBA to specify a detailed definition for the terms "green products or services" and "green business practices."