You may not be the political type, but anyone who appreciates our country’s move in a greener direction will find the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) “Top 10 Green Building Bills” an interesting read. The Council has compiled a Top 10 list for both House and Senate legislation that “advances green building and the economic activity and jobs that come with it.” Atop the list for the House sits the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which allocated over $22 billion for energy efficiency projects.
Here is the list in full, taken from the USGBC press release. (I’ve included links where I could find them–the original list did not have them):
HOUSE
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – Public Law
The American Clean Energy and Security Act – Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.)
The 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act – Ben Chandler (D-Ky.)
The Expanding Building Efficiency Act – Dave Reichert (R-Wash.)
The Property Assessed Clean Energy Tax Benefits Act — John Sarbanes (D-Md.)
An Act to Enhance Private Financing for Clean Energy Technology Deployment – Steve Israel (D-N.Y.)
The Energy Efficiency Modernization Act of 2009 – Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Ohio)
The Water Accountability Tax Efficiency Reinvestment (WATER) Act – Michael Coffman (R-Colo.)
The Livable Communities Act of 2010 – Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) **pending introduction**
The Federal Personnel Training Act of 2010 – Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.) **pending introduction**
SENATE
The Clean Energy and American Jobs Act – John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.)
The American Clean Energy and Leadership Act – Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)
Energy Efficiency in Housing Act (EEHA) of 2009 – Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)
The Livable Communities Act of 2009 – Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.)
The Expanding Building Efficiency Incentives Act of 2009 – Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)
The School Building Fairness Act – Tom Harkin (D-Iowa)
Clean Energy for Homes and Buildings Act of 2009 – Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.)
The Energy Efficiency Modernization Act of 2009 – Michael Bennet (D-Colo.)
The Water Accountability Tax Efficiency Reinvestment (WATER) Act of 2009 — Mark Udall (D-Colo.)
The Federal Agency Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2009 – Susan Collins (R-Maine)
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by legislature, but we are talking about bills that would *hopefully* improve–among other things–the energy efficiency of our homes and the cleanliness of the energy used by our homes.
Politics worth keeping an eye on, in my opinion.
Credit: U.S. Green Building Council
