Gardner, Coons, Welch, Kinzinger Introduce Bipartisan Energy Efficiency Legislation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 25, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Chris Coons (D-CT) and Representatives Peter Welch (D-VT) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) announced today that they are introducing identical bipartisan bills in the Senate and House encouraging and expanding the use of Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) and Utility Energy Service Contracts (UESCs) in federal government buildings.

ESPCs and UESCs are innovative public-private partnerships in which private companies use their own money and resources to make energy-efficiency upgrades to federal buildings. In exchange for making those upgrades, those private companies receive a portion of the money saved as a result of the increased efficiency in federal buildings. ESPCs and UESCs create private sector jobs upgrading the federal government’s estimated three billion square feet of office space at no real cost to taxpayers.

“The federal government is the largest consumer of energy in America,” Senator Gardner said. “Using ESPCs and UESCs to make the federal government more efficient while creating private sector jobs is the kind of commonsense solution that members of both parties can get behind. I’ve worked on this issue going back to my time in the House of Representatives and I made it one of the tenets of my Four Corners Plan for Colorado when I ran for Senate. I’m proud to join with my colleagues today and continue leading this effort.”

“Saving energy and taxpayer money at the same time just makes sense, and I’m excited to move this bill forward with my colleagues from across the aisle and across the Capitol,” Senator Coons said. “All at once, this legislation will support local jobs, help the federal government save energy, and allow us to invest in clean energy, energy efficiency, and water conservation projects that are critical to our economic future.”

“The federal government has over 3 billion square feet of building space and is the largest energy consumer in the country,” Representative Welch said. “This legislation would make federal buildings energy efficient while saving taxpayer dollars, improving the environment and create private sector jobs. In the previous Congress, the House demonstrated that energy efficiency is a practical idea that cuts through partisan gridlock. In this Congress, we’ll be redoubling our efforts to get bipartisan energy efficiency legislation on the President’s desk.”

“Currently, the federal government is missing out on an estimated $20 billion in savings by continuing to run outdated, energy inefficient federal facilities,” Representative Kinzinger said. “The Energy Savings through Public Private Partnerships Act is a bipartisan, commonsense solution that is guaranteed to help end wasteful spending on inefficient energy programs in order to deliver savings to the American taxpayers who are footing these energy bills.”