Blaine Luetkemeyer: “Today, I rise in support of H.R. 2997, the Private Investment in Housing Act of 2015. This bill, introduced by my…”

“Today, I rise in support of H.R. 2997, the Private Investment in Housing Act of 2015. This bill, introduced by my colleague, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Ross), would authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish a demonstration program to make assisted multifamily properties more energy and water efficient at no cost to U.S. taxpayers. Currently, HUD spends in excess of $7 billion in annual energy and water costs for HUD-assisted properties. These properties are generally older, with inefficient energy and water usage. In most cases, owners of these older assisted properties lack the capital to modernize their buildings to perform energy and water efficiency. H.R. 2997 would create a demonstration for no more than 20,000 assisted units where HUD would enter into agreements with intermediaries--most likely, nonprofit entities--to produce energy and water efficiency in exchange for a share of the savings. This demonstration and the subsequent contract with the intermediary would allow these entities to raise capital from private investors and foundations. HUD would not provide upfront capital investments for any energy retrofits and there would be no risk to the Federal Government. Savings due to the retrofits, verified by an independent third party, would then result in HUD remitting a portion of the savings back to the intermediaries.…”