Mitch Perry
Is this a case of bipartisanship running amok in Washington all of a sudden?
Not really, but last night the House of Representatives did come together, this time to pass what is being described as a modest piece of energy legislation called the “Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2015.” The Senate passed an earlier version, and the bill now goes to President Obama’s desk for signature.
The bill will create a voluntary program for landlords and tenants to improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings, mandate that large electric water heaters be run in a highly energy-efficient manner and require federal agencies to perform energy-use assessments on commercial buildings that they lease.
“The federal government is the largest consumer of energy in the country, and it should lead by example,” U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor said in a statement issued on Wednesday. “Energy conservation to reduce our nation’s dependence on fossil fuels and banning offshore drilling to prevent environmental disasters like the BP blowout go hand-in-hand in protecting our economy as well as saving consumers money.”
The bill’s sponsors in the Senate, Ohio Republican Rob Portman and New Hampshire Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, also applauded the bill’s passage. “Our targeted energy efficiency bill has garnered widespread support because of a simple fact: It is good for the economy and good for the environment,” said Portman in a statement.
But the New York Times reports that this version of an energy efficiency bill is scaled down from a more ambitious effort that the two legislators have been working on since 2011. That bill would create incentives for federal mortgage writers to incorporate energy-efficient heating and cooling systems into the value of a home, establish training programs in energy-efficiency construction, create programs to increase the energy efficiency of manufacturing supply chains, and direct the Energy Department to work with manufacturers on energy-efficient technology.
However, partisan politics have brought down that effort, with major disagreements regarding climate change and the Keystone XL Pipeline leading to an impasse.
Meanwhile Congresswoman Castor is once again filing a bill called the
Earlier this week, U.S. Rep. Castor refiled her bill, the Florida Coast Protection Act, which would permanently prohibit fossil fuel drilling, leasing, preleasing and any related activities off the Gulf coast and the Straits of Florida. The current buffer 235 miles off of Tampa Bay is effective only through 2022. Castor filed similar legislation in 2008 and 2010. She says the legislation passed by the House will lessen the calls to expand drilling in places like Florida in the future.
“Last night, Congress passed my energy benchmarking measures, which is a step towards reducing pressures to expand fossil fuel drilling. This goes hand-in-hand with Congressional measures needed to permanently protect our Gulf to keep safe the economies of our coastal communities,” Castor said.
