Water Heater Rating Improvement Act of 2011

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6582) to allow for innovations and alternative technologies that meet or exceed desired energy efficiency goals, and to make technical corrections to existing Federal energy efficiency laws to allow American manufacturers to remain competitive, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in support of H.R. 6582, the American Energy Manufacturing Technical Corrections Act, and I want to thank Mr. Waxman and his staff for working with us on this legislation. Part of it has been passed in the Senate, and we've worked very closely with the Senate staff and Members as well.

This is a small but critical piece of energy legislation that I encourage my colleagues to support:

Section 2 deals with an outdated standard for walk-in coolers that is actually resulting in layoffs and loss of jobs in the State of Alabama;

Section 3 deals with a fix to water heater requirements that will reduce regulatory burdens on manufacturers by transitioning to a single definition for all covered water heaters;

Section 4 fixes a standard that cannot be met from the 2007 energy bill for ``service over the counter'' refrigerators;

Section 5 deals with small duct high velocity systems;

Sections 6 and 7 seek to improve Federal coordination to help develop and deploy industrial energy efficiency technologies;

Sections 8 and 9 aim to improve Federal energy efficiency, which will ultimately save taxpayers money;

Section 10 makes additional routine technical corrections to the 2007 energy bill.

This bill will reduce regulatory burdens and provide greater certainty for manufacturers, allowing them to stay in business, avoid layoffs, and will also ensure the continued benefits of energy savings and consumer savings because of increased energy efficiency.

H.R. 6582 carries the support of the Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute, the Industrial Energy Consumers of America, as well as the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, the Alliance to Save Energy, and the National Association of Manufacturers.

This bill shows that we can work together in Congress in a bipartisan manner to tackle important energy issues. To that end, I once again want to thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, Mr. Waxman and his staff, for working with us to help develop this legislation that we all can support.

I might add that many of us on this side of the aisle feel as though the 2007 energy bill has many provisions that we believe to be challenging for stimulating private growth and creating jobs. I hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will continue to work with us on these matters in the future.

As the 112th Congress comes to a close, the passage of this modest but important energy efficiency bill gives me hope that we can work together in the coming years to tackle the many energy challenges facing America. I encourage my colleagues to support passage of H.R. 6582.

I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives, Committee on Science, Space,

and Technology,

Washington, DC, December 3, 2012.

Hon. Fred Upton,

Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Rayburn HOB,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Upton: I am writing to you concerning the

jurisdictional interest of the Committee on Science, Space,

and Technology in H.R. 6582, the American Energy

Manufacturing Technical Corrections Act. The suspension text

version of H.R. 6582, posted on November 30, 2012 contains

multiple provisions from H.R. 4850, the Enabling Energy

Saving Innovations Act, as amended and passed by the Senate

on September 22, 2012 under unanimous consent, which are

outside the original scope of H.R. 4850, as introduced and

passed by the House on June 26, 2012.

While the text of H.R. 6582 reflects an agreement reached

by the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate

Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the text also

contains provisions that fall within the Rule X jurisdiction

of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

I recognize and appreciate the desire to bring this

legislation before the House of Representatives, and

accordingly, I will waive further consideration of this bill

in Committee, notwithstanding any provisions that fall within

the jurisdiction of the Committee on Science, Space, and

Technology. This waiver, of course, is conditional on our

mutual understanding that agreeing to waive consideration of

this bill should not be construed as waiving, reducing, or

affecting the jurisdiction of the Committee on Science,

Space, and Technology.

Additionally, the Committee on Science, Space, and

Technology expressly reserves its authority to seek conferees

on any provision within its jurisdiction during any House-

Senate conference that may be convened on this, or any

similar legislation. I ask for your commitment to support any

request by the Committee for conferees on H.R. 6582, as well

as any similar or related legislation.

I ask that a copy of this letter be placed in the

Congressional Record during consideration of the bill on the

House floor.

Sincerely,

Ralph M. Hall,

Chairman, Committee on Science,

Space, and Technology.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Aderholt), who wrote a portion of this bill and whose State is at risk of losing jobs because of some technicalities.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus), who is chairman of the Environment and Economy Subcommittee.

(Mr. SHIMKUS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I might say that we're all looking forward to working with the gentleman from Vermont as he comes back to the Energy and Commerce Committee.

At this time, I'd like to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Westmoreland), who wrote a portion of this bill.

At this time, Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield 3 minutes to the gentlelady from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn), who is a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I would like to yield for a period of 3 minutes to Dr. Roe of Tennessee, who is a member of the Education Committee.

I also want to urge everyone to support H.R. 6582, a small, modest, energy-efficiency bill that will save some jobs.

I certainly want to thank the Members of the Senate, the Senate staff, the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman) and his committee staff, and certainly the Energy and Power staff here on the House side for being involved in these negotiations and working this out.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

The United States and the world are facing an enormous and growing threat: The pollution we are putting into the atmosphere is changing the climate around us. In this last year alone, New York City has been flooded by a superstorm, the Midwest has roasted in record-setting drought, and wildfires have scorched the West. These are not aberrations. They are the early warning signs of what the future will look like.

Today, on one of the very last days of this Congress, we're taking our first step to recognize this looming threat. It's not a big step-- in fact, it's a tiny one--but it gives hope that we can work together, and it is a signal that at least we are headed in the right direction.

Energy efficiency is an essential part of any serious effort to address climate change. It is the low-hanging fruit that reduces pollution while saving Americans money and creating jobs. Whether

it's a building code or appliance standard or home retrofit, we should be doing far more in this area. In fact, a recent International Energy Agency analysis found that without new policies, two-thirds of the cost-effective energy efficiency gains that could be made will remain unrealized through 2035.

This bill includes a number of noncontroversial technical fixes to appliance energy efficiency standards for water heaters, walk-in freezers, deli counter-style refrigerators, and certain types of air conditioners. The bill includes improvements to the process by which the Department of Energy updates its energy efficiency standards. In addition, there are a few sensible provisions to promote industrial energy efficiency and the efficiency of Federal Government buildings.

This bill will not produce large energy savings, but it's a worthwhile package of consensus improvements. The package is based on provisions that recently passed the Senate by unanimous consent. Both industry and energy efficiency advocates support the bill. This is a bill that has a very good chance of becoming law this month.

But we need to do much, much more. The beginning of a new Congress provides us an opportunity to work together on a bipartisan basis to enact commonsense energy efficiency legislation. Such legislation will save consumers money, boost domestic manufacturing, while cutting pollution, including the carbon pollution that is driving dangerous climate change.

I look forward to starting those discussions with Chairman Upton and our Energy and Commerce Committee colleagues. There are many good ideas for policies that would reduce waste and save energy, and we should work together to explore those ideas and enact the ones we can agree on.

Today's bill is a first step. I encourage my colleagues to support it, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased at this time to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Carnahan).

Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased at this time to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Welch), who is going to be joining again the Energy and Commerce Committee to my great delight.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time on my side of the aisle to support this legislation. I know that almost all Democrats that I have talked to think it's a good bill. I have urged the others to join with them in supporting it. I think it's a worthwhile piece of legislation. It's a small step, but it's a step in the right direction. And it will clarify some issues that still need to be clarified. So let's get this done.

And in pursuit of that objective, I yield back the balance of my time.

I want to thank the gentleman from Kentucky for his time and just take a moment to say how much we appreciate working with him and his staff on this legislation as we've moved forward.

As has been mentioned here, the purpose of this legislation, in many respects, is to make critical technical changes to the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, known as EISA, which will both preserve jobs and create new jobs in several related fields of industry.

I want to speak in particular to section 313 of EISA as it relates to the efficiency standards of walk-in coolers and freezers. The section mandates that cooler and freezer doors must meet a certain R-value as a measurement of their ability to retain temperature and use less energy. The problem here is that R-value is a measurement based primarily on one insulating product in particular--foam--and on how thick that foam actually is. However, requiring a product to meet an R-value prohibits technologies that are just as efficient even though they utilize alternative materials or technologies.

In this case, the technology is even more efficient. Although regulatory statutes many times provide the Department of Energy with a waiver authority, a waiver was not a part of this particular statute. This legislation provides the Department of Energy with the authority to waive the requirement if they determine a product meets or exceeds the desired energy-efficiency goals.

Bureaucratic red tape and Federal regulations can sometimes accidentally keep America's innovators and small businesses from creating jobs. Therefore, the Manufacturing Technical Corrections Act is a commonsense solution which maintains standards and yet corrects a problem which otherwise stifles growth and causes companies to lose jobs. Due to an increase in regulation over the past few years, too many small businesses have had to lay off employees, reduce production, and even shut their doors. This is precisely what happened to an innovative manufacturing company in the district I represent back in Alabama.

The Federal Government's embrace of outdated technology prohibits new and innovative solutions to improve energy efficiency. Without sacrificing the efficiency standards which drove the original bill, my bill here that we're discussing this afternoon merely makes a commonsense update.

Just to be clear, this legislation, H.R. 6582, does not create new standards, but it does make existing standards better for businesses and better for consumers. I can personally attest that this technical corrections bill will directly affect over 100 jobs in the State of Alabama, and potentially many others could be created with this new and innovative technology. The other sections of this bill affect a similar and, in some cases, I'm told, an even greater amount of jobs in other places in the country.

Simply put, this commonsense legislation provides technical corrections which remove barriers to technologies and which untie the hands of companies that manufacture here in the United States of America. This means jobs. And not only by moving this legislation will we be able to create jobs, but we'll be able also to make sure that we continue economic growth in this country.

Therefore, I suggest and urge my colleagues that they support this legislation that's on the floor today.

I rise today on behalf of H.R. 6582, the American Energy Manufacturing Act. This is truly a commonsense, bipartisan bill. I've been proud to work on it with my friend and neighbor, Representative John Shimkus of Illinois, and also with Congresswoman Judy Biggert, who has been my cochair of the High-Performance Building Caucus. I want to thank Congressman Whitfield and Congressman Waxman for their leadership on this matter here on the floor today.

And, finally, the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Aderholt) for his leadership in moving this bill forward today and for including legislation that I sponsored in 2010, the Small Duct, High Velocity Energy Efficiency Standards for America Act. Small duct, high velocity systems are a special type of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. It is more energy efficient than traditional units, especially for older and historic homes and buildings with limited space for new duct work.

Even though it's more efficient, the Department of Energy lumped these new systems in with a rulemaking for regular systems in 2002. The Department eventually granted a waiver, basically saying that these new small duct systems could be sold anyway as efficient products. But the legislation before us today will codify that waiver into law so that American manufacturers and consumers can truly benefit from the advantages of these types of products.

Unico is a company that is one of several that manufacture these systems. It is a small business of about 80 employees in my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. I've toured the Unico plant, and I've met with their employees. I've seen the pride in their work, the craftsmanship that they display. And those products go not just around the U.S., but around the world.

Unico is an American success story. It's a small business created in America, manufacturing products in America, and creating good-paying manufacturing and construction jobs--exactly what this Congress and this country should be all about. And when the actor Brad Pitt, also a Missouri native, and the Make It Right Foundation unveiled plans to build over 100 super-energy-efficient homes in New Orleans, they looked around the world to find low-cost, energy-efficient systems, and they chose Unico, creating more jobs in my hometown. We're proud of that. But it isn't just about jobs, though. It's about becoming more energy efficient as a Nation.

Heating and cooling account for 56 percent of energy use in the typical house, making it the largest energy expense for most families. Air conditioners alone use roughly 5 percent of all electricity nationwide, at a cost of

over $11 billion to homeowners, releasing nearly 100 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Domestic manufacturing and use of high-energy heating and cooling systems like the ones produced by Unico will reduce energy up to 50 percent, save consumers billions of dollars a year, and create jobs. I urge a ``yes'' vote on this bill and thank my colleagues for their work today.

I thank the gentleman from California, and I look forward to returning to the committee and working with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle as well.

I'm very pleased to be here supporting this legislation. Energy efficiency makes sense. We have brutal arguments here about climate change, about what is the right fuel source. They're dividing us. But the fact is whether you believe in climate change or not, even under the bill that was passed--not this session, but a session ago--we could have met one-third of our climate reduction, carbon emission goals through efficiency. There is an enormous potential in efficiency to make this economy better, to create local jobs, to save people money. This legislation starts down that road, and it's very good.

I look and see some of my colleagues over there, even my friend from Georgia. I think we accidentally voted the same on one or two pieces of legislation this year--and I'm not quite sure who made the mistake. But our eyes are wide open on this one with efficiency. We know that this is good for Georgia, it's good for Vermont. And it does not matter what your fuel source is--you can be a nuclear person or a clean energy person--using less is good for the pocketbook, it's good for the economy.

I would like to expand on this when we come back next year, find that area where we're in agreement on efficiency and energy and intensify it. When I served on the committee, we did pass HOME STAR. I've partnered this session with Mr. McKinley of West Virginia on a version of that, the HOMES Act, where we would give some incentive to homeowners to retrofit their homes. The evidence is that if you did this in an aggressive way, 95 percent of the materials that are used in retrofitting a home are manufactured in America, so we put those manufacturing jobs back online.

Number two, the folks who do the work are the trade folks, who are really still reeling from the housing slump. So they've got the skills and they need the work; we put them back to work. Then your bill at home, as a homeowner--whatever your heat source--goes down. This is sensible and we can do it.

It's going to take some decisions on spending. I hope we can get past this notion that every dollar spent is a bad dollar spent. There are times when it makes sense to invest because you get a good return on it, and that's from somebody who does believe that we've got to bring our budget in balance.

So I say to the sponsors of this legislation, our leaders on the committee, and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, this is a tremendous down-payment on efficiency that will be good for this Congress to work together on and good for this country to get it done.