Congress Honors Capitol Hill’s First “Green” Building
For immediate release - July 13, 2007
Washington, DC…Members of Congress from both parties came together yesterday to celebrate the first “green” building on Capitol Hill and discuss the pressing need for legislation that would vastly reduce U.S. energy consumption by promoting “green” construction throughout the country.
Sixteen members of Congress joined hundreds of others in celebrating the Friends Committee on National Legislation's transformation of two Civil War-era buildings into a high performance, energy-efficient green building.
Members of Congress in attendance included Senators Jeff Bingaman (NM), Barbara Boxer (CA), Amy Klobuchar (MN), Frank Lautenberg (NJ), and Bernie Sanders (VT). Also in attendance were Representatives Roscoe Bartlett (MD), Earl Blumenauer (OR), Lois Capps (CA), Darlene Hooley (OR), Jay Inslee (WA), Ed Markey (MA), Jim McDermott (WA), Bill Pascrell (NJ), Ed Perlmutter (CO), Jim Saxton (NJ), Albert Wynn (MD).
Several members who offered praise for the many green design features of the building, which include a geothermal heating and cooling system, a vegetated roof, a “light scoop” for natural lighting, energy efficient windows, and bamboo floors. Senator Boxer commented on the building’s use of natural lighting and suggested that the Energy and Public Works Committee, which she chairs, might try to infuse their meeting room with more natural light.
All of the members who toured the building have been strong advocates of green building practices. Senator Lautenberg’s High Performance Green Building Legislation has won bipartisan support and included in the final energy bill that Senator Bingaman shepherded to final passage in the Senate. Representative Jay Inslee (WA) choose the FCNL Green Building celebration as the occasion to announce he is introducing legislation to create federal energy efficiency standards for new commercial and residential buildings with the goal of reducing carbon-dioxide emissions 40 percent by 2010 and 70 percent by 2020.
Buildings in the United States account for nearly 50 percent of U.S. energy consumption and 40 percent of CO2 emissions. Interviews, photos opportunities, and tours are available for members of the media. For additional information and a virtual tour of the building, please visit www.fcnl.org/building.
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The Friends Committee on National Legislation, the oldest registered religious lobby in Washington, is a non-partisan Quaker lobby in the public interest. FCNL works with a nationwide network of tens of thousands of people from every state in the U.S. to advocate for social and economic justice, peace, and good government. For more information: http://www.fcnl.org
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