Bipartisan coalition of 117 House Members and 22 Senators push to extend 2011 energy efficiency initiative in federal buildings
Rep. Cory Gardner (R-CO), Rep. Peter Welch, (D-VT), Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) and Sen. John Boozman (R-AR), joined by 117 House colleagues and 22 Senate colleagues, are calling for a 5-year extension of President Obama’s federal buildings energy efficiency initiative.
In 2011, the President kicked off a 2-year initiative to achieve $2 billion in energy savings in federal buildings. The bipartisan, bicameral coalition of legislators is calling on the President to continue the successful use of performance contracting in federal facilities by launching a 5-year, $5 billion extension of the 2011 initiative.
The 2011 executive order employed the use of Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) and Utility Energy Services Contracts (UESCs) to achieve energy savings in federal buildings. Under an ESPC or UESC, an energy services company or a utility negotiates a contract with a federal agency that specifies the amount of energy savings it will achieve through retrofits and other measures. The company or utility is then paid for its performance out of the savings it achieves rather than through appropriated funds.
The federal government spends over $6 billion annually on energy use in federal facilities.
Rep. Gardner, Rep. Welch, and Senator Coons have introduced legislation(H.R.2689 and S.1308) to advance the use of ESPCs and UESCs in the federal government that mirrors the expansion proposed in the coalition’s letter to the President.
The legislators point out in their letter that the 2011 initiative has led to “a substantial increase in federal facility upgrades carried out by private-sector entities without any upfront cost to the taxpayer … There is still substantial potential for achieving more savings and the success of the past two years’ effort has created important momentum that should now be continued.”
117 House Members, including 70 Democrats and 47 Republicans, have signed onto the Gardner-Welch letter which can be read here. 22 Senators, including 16 Democrats and 6 Republicans, have signed the identical Coons-Boozman letter which is still open for signatures in the Senate.
The following Representatives and Senators have signed the Gardner-Welch-Coons-Boozman letter to date:
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HOUSE |
SENATE |
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Rep. Mark Amodei |
Sen. Chris Coons |
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Rep. Andy Barr |
Sen. John Boozman |
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Rep. John Barrow |
Sen. Ron Wyden |
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Rep. Marsha Blackburn |
Sen. Rob Portman |
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Rep. Earl Blumenauer |
Sen. Bernie Sanders |
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Rep. Bruce Braley |
Sen. Lamar Alexander |
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Rep. Paul Broun |
Sen. Tom Udall |
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Rep. Julia Brownley |
Sen. John Hoeven |
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Rep. Vern Buchanan |
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen |
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Rep. Cheri Bustos |
Sen. Saxby Chambliss |
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Rep. Lois Capps |
Sen. Brian Schatz |
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Rep. Tony Cardenas |
Sen. Jim Inhofe |
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Rep. Matt Cartwright |
Sen. Al Franken |
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Rep. Judy Chu |
Sen. Jeff Merkley |
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Rep. Howard Coble |
Sen. Mark Begich |
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Rep. Mike Coffman |
Sen. Martin Heinrich |
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Rep. Steve Cohen |
Sen. Ed Markey |
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Rep. Doug Collins |
Sen. Richard Blumenthal |
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Rep. Gerald Connolly |
Sen. Chris Murphy |
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Rep. John Conyers |
Sen. Robert Menendez |
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Rep. Jim Cooper |
Sen. Jack Reed |
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Rep. Rodney Davis |
Sen. Dick Durbin |
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Rep. John Delaney |
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Rep. Rosa DeLauro |
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Rep. Jeff Denham |
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Rep. Charlie Dent |
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Rep. Donna Edwards |
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Rep. Renee Ellmers |
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Rep. Anna Eshoo |
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Rep. Sam Farr |
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Rep. Stephen Fincher |
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Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick |
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Rep. Bill Flores |
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Rep. Trent Franks Rep. Cory Gardner |
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Rep. Chris Gibson |
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Rep. Phil Gingrey |
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Rep. Paul Gosar |
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Rep. Tim Griffin |
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Rep. Raul Grijalva |
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Rep. Brett Guthrie |
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Rep. Ralph Hall |
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Rep. Richard Hanna |
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Rep. Denny Heck |
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Rep. Jim Himes |
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Rep. Rush Holt |
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Rep. Mike Honda |
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Rep. Jared Huffman |
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Rep. Randy Hultgren |
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Rep. Lynn Jenkins |
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Rep. Pitts Joseph |
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Rep. Bill Keating |
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Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy, III |
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Rep. Derek Kilmer |
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Rep. Adam Kinzinger |
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Rep. Anne McLane Kuster |
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Rep. Jim Langevin |
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Rep. Barbara Lee |
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Rep. Zoe Lofgren |
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Rep. Alan Lowenthal |
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Rep. Dan Maffei |
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Rep. Jim Matheson |
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Rep. Doris Matsui |
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Rep. Michael McCaul |
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Rep. Betty McCollum |
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Rep. Jim McDermott |
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Rep. Jim McGovern |
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Rep. Mike McIntyre |
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Rep. David McKinley |
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Rep. George Miller |
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Rep. Jim Moran |
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Rep. Mick Mulvaney |
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Rep. Patrick Murphy |
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Rep. Richard Nolan |
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Rep. Alan Nunnelee |
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Rep. Bill Owens |
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Rep. Frank Pallone |
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Rep. Bill Pascrell |
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Rep. Erik Paulsen |
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Rep. Ed Perlmutter |
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Rep. Scott Peters |
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Rep. Pingree Pingree |
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Rep. Mark Pocan |
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Rep. Jared Polis |
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Rep. Bill Posey |
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Rep. David Price |
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Rep. Mike Quigley |
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Rep. Charlie Rangel |
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Rep. Reid Ribble |
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Rep. Raul Ruiz |
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Rep. Tim Ryan |
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Rep. John Sarbanes |
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Rep. Jan Schakowsky |
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Rep. Kurt Schrader |
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Rep. Robert "Bobby" Scott |
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Rep. Carol Shea Porter |
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Rep. Mike Simpson |
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Rep. Krysten Sinema |
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Rep. Jackie Speier |
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Rep. Lee Terry |
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Rep. John Tierney |
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Rep. Paul Tonko |
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Rep. Niki Tsongas |
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Rep. Fred Upton |
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Rep. Chris Van Hollen |
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Rep. Greg Walden |
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Rep. Jackie Walorski |
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Rep. Henry Waxman |
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Rep. Daniel Webster Rep. Peter Welch |
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Rep. Ed Whitfield Rep. Roger Williams |
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Rep. Joe Wilson |
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Rep. Frank Wolf |
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Rep. Steve Womack |
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Rep. John Yarmuth |
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Rep. Todd Young |
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The letter is backed by a broad and diverse coalition of groups including:
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ABM |
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AO Smith Corporation |
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Alliance for Industrial Efficiency |
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Alliance to Save Energy |
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Ameresco |
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American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) |
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Boulder County Board of County Commissioners |
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Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) |
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Conservation Services Group (CSG) |
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Constellation |
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Danfoss |
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Digital Energy & Sustainability Solutions Campaign (DESSC) |
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Energy Future Coalition |
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Environment America |
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Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) |
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Federal Performance Contracting Coalition (FPCC) |
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Honeywell |
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Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC) |
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Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) |
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Johnson Controls |
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National Association of Energy Service Companies (NAESCO) |
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National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) |
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National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) |
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National Grid |
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Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) |
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United Technologies/NORESCO |
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Northeast Energy Efficiency Council (NEEC) |
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Schneider Electric |
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Siemens |
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Sierra Club |
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Trane/Ingersoll Rand |
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U.S. Chamber of Commerce |
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U.S. Green Building Council |
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