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ASHRAE Government Affairs Update, 8/12/11
- Debt Limit Deal Enacted Into Law, Substantial Cuts for Many Federal Agencies and Programs Likely
- Committee Members Appointed to Bipartisan “Super Committee” Charged with Identifying $1.5 Trillion in Deficit Reduction Over Ten Years
- Fights Over Funding for Coming Fiscal Year to Begin Soon – Short-Term Continuing Resolution, then Omnibus Bills Likely
- President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Plan to Advance Bipartisan Energy Legislation in Fall
- Washington Engineering Program Interns Deliver Presentations on Capitol Hill
Debt Limit Deal Enacted Into Law, Substantial Cuts for Many Federal Agencies and Programs Likely
The President and Congress agreed to legislation on August 2, raising the nation’s debt limit by about $2.1 trillion through 2013. The Budget Control Act (S. 365) reduces the federal deficit by $917 billion between 2012 and 2012, and creates a bipartisan “super committee” charged with crafting legislation that would reduce the deficit by an additional $1.5 trillion over this same ten years. If the super committee (technically the “Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction”) does not create legislation that reduces the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion, then automatic, across-the-board cuts of $1.2 trillion would be triggered. Because of the size of these goals, funding reductions for virtually all federal agencies and programs are on the table.Congressional committees may provide deficit reduction recommendations to the super committee by October 14, 2011. ASHRAE is working with several other building industry stakeholders and is meeting with key Congressional offices to help educate staff and Members of Congress on how the industry uses various federal buildings-related programs. The goal of these meetings is to help reduce the likelihood of unintended consequences, which may result from uninformed Congressional decisions.
The super committee is required to develop legislation by November 23, 2011, and the House and Senate are required to vote on this legislation by December 23, 2011. No details on what may be in this legislation have yet emerged.
Committee Members Appointed to Bipartisan “Super Committee” Charged with Identifying $1.5 Trillion in Deficit Reduction Over Ten Years
The twelve members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction – the so-called “super committee” have been appointed by House and Senate Democratic and Republican chamber leadership. Membership on this committee is equally divided between Democrats and Republicans, and House and Senate. The super committee is charged with developing legislation that reduces the federal deficit by $1.5 trillion over ten years, as indicated in the above section.
Notable for the building industry is the appointment of Representative Fred Upton (R-MI), who serves as the Chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee. Upton was selected in part because of his record of bipartisanship, loyalty to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), and his prior work at the Office of Management and Budget during the Reagan administration.
Below is the list of super committee members: Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction
Senate Democrats
- Max Baucus (D-MT)
Senate committee assignments:
o Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry
o Environment & Public Works
o Finance - Chair
o Joint Committee on Taxation - Vice Chair - John Kerry (D-MA)
Senate committee assignments:
o Commerce, Science and Transportation
o Finance
o Foreign Relations - Chair
o Small Business & Entrepreneurship - Patty Murray (D-WA)
Senate committee assignments:
o Appropriations
o Budget
o Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
o Veterans’ Affairs - Chair
o Rules & Administration
o Joint Committee on Printing
- Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Senate committee assignments
o Finance
o Judiciary - Rob Portman (R-OH)
Senate committee assignments
• Armed Services
• Budget
• Energy & Natural Resources
• Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs - Pat Toomey (R-PA)
Senate committee assignments
o Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
o Budget
o Commerce, Science and Transportation
o Joint Economic Committee
House Democrats
- Xavier Becerra (D-CA)
House committee assignments
o Ways & Means - James E. Clyburn (D-SC)
House committee assignments
o Serves as Assistant Democratic Leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, and therefore is not appointed to any committees - Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
House committee assignments
o Budget Ranking Democratic Member
House Republicans
- Dave Camp (R-MI)
House committee assignments
o Ways & Means - Chair
o Joint Committee on Taxation - Chair - Jeb Hensarling (R-TX)
House committee assignments
o Financial Services - Vice Chairman - Fred Upton (R-MI)
House committee assignments
o Energy & Commerce - Chair
Fights Over Funding for Coming Fiscal Year to Begin Soon – Short-Term Continuing Resolution, then Omnibus Bills Likely
When the House and Senate come back from recess in early September, they’ll have less than a month to finish up work on the federal funding bills for the coming 2012 fiscal year (FY), which begins October 1. To date, none of the twelve regular appropriations bills have been enacted into law.
With time short, and funding a perennially contentious issue, Members of Congress will not have enough time to complete work on the regular appropriations bills, and instead will be forced to pass a short-term continuing resolution (CR) that will fund government programs at FY 2011 levels for a couple of months until policymakers can come to agreement and package all remaining funding bills into a single “omnibus” bill. If a CR is not enacted into law by October 1, the federal government will be partially shutdown (essential services and programs would be allowed to continue with little or no interruption).
Typically CRs fund the government at the prior fiscal year’s levels, however fiscal conservatives in Congress will likely use the threat of a government shutdown to try to force spending reductions. Additional spending reductions will also likely be sought in the omnibus appropriations bill.
Together, the CR, omnibus, and $1.2 to $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction from the super committee, may result in historic cuts in federal spending. Whether seen as good or bad, the decisions of policymakers over the next several months will have consequences that ripple across the American and world economies for years to come. As a technical resource for policymakers, ASHRAE is working with other societies to help Members of Congress better understand the potential results of proposed actions.
President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Plan to Advance Bipartisan Energy Legislation in Fall
While no details of the plan have emerged, building energy efficiency could definitely be included, and all or parts of the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act (sometimes called “Shaheen-Portman”), with its strong bipartisan backing, is a likely contender. This bill was recently approved by the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee.
Introduced by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Rob Portman (R-OH), Shaheen-Portman would establish energy targets for ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1 and the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) for commercial and residential buildings, respectively. Under this bill, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) would establish both aggregate and intermediate energy savings targets. If DOE determines that subsequent editions of Standard 90.1/IECC do not meet the energy targets, DOE may request changes to the relevant standard to meet the target, taking into consideration whether DOE’s proposed changes are technically feasible and life-cycle cost-effective, construction practices, and potential costs, savings, and other benefits for consumers and building owners, including the impact on overall building ownership and operating costs.
ASHRAE/the International Code Council (ICC) would have 180 days to incorporate these changes into 90.1/IECC. If ASHRAE/ICC does not incorporate these changes, DOE would create its own code to be used as the new national model building energy code for commercial/residential buildings. Such a code would be based on 90.1/IECC, but DOE may also consider other model codes or standards.
Washington Engineering Program Interns Deliver Presentations on Capitol Hill
Participants in the 2011 Washington Internship for Students of Engineering (WISE) program recently delivered presentations on Capitol Hill on a wide range of engineering issues.
ASHRAE’s 2011 WISE intern, Minjoo Lee of Bucknell University, wrote a paper and resented on barriers and opportunities regarding the adoption, enforcement, and compliance with energy standards and codes.
In the coming weeks, Minjoo’s presentation and paper will be posted on ASHRAE’s Website at http://www.ashrae.org/advocacy/page/1226.
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