RUSS CARNAHAN: “Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I also want to add my voice to encouraging our chairman and ranking member to continue to work…”

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I also want to add my voice to encouraging our chairman and ranking member to continue to work together to find that common ground. I know they have worked on this, but there obviously is more work to be done, and I want to encourage that. It is the only way we are going to get things done in this House. I want to thank the chairman and the ranking member for their work on the committee and on this bill. I also want to thank the bipartisan High-Performance Building Caucus that I've worked with over the last several years that has helped bring focus on more efficient management and technology for our built environment. The amendment that I offer here tonight will ensure that the Federal Government makes better decisions in the construction or leasing of Federal facilities, decisions that save taxpayer dollars. The U.S. Federal Government manages a large inventory of approximately 429,000 buildings, with a total square footage of 3.34 billion worldwide. As we know, buildings are resource intensive, accounting for 40 percent of primary energy use in the U.S., 12 percent of water consumption, and 60 percent of nonindustrial waste. Federal facilities account for 0.4 percent of the Nation's energy usage. With such a large energy footprint and related costs, it is only common sense that the Federal Government fully understand both the short- and long-term cost of the construction and lease for a facility.…”