S. 385: The Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2017 (Portman-Shaheen Bill)

S. 385 Provisions

Also known as the Portman-Shaheen bill, S. 385 has four energy efficiency titles (buildings, industry, federal agencies, and regulatory measures) and one title on budget matters.

Title I would update model building energy codes and encourage adoption by state and local governments and American Indian Tribes (§101); authorize grants to universities to establish building training and assessment centers (§111); authorize matching grants to nonprofit organizations to train industry-certified installers of energy-efficient technologies (§112); and provide technical assistance to help schools improve energy efficiency and install renewable energy equipment (§121).

Title II would improve information outreach to small- and medium-sized manufacturers and provide a 50% match to support energy efficiency internship programs (§202); provide energy efficiency assessments for manufacturers and conduct a "sustainable manufacturing" program (§203); establish a "Supply Star" program that publicly recognizes companies and products that use highly efficient equipment supply chains (§211); and establish rebate programs to spur replacement of energy inefficient electric motors (§221) and energy inefficient electricity transformers (§231).

Title III would direct federal agencies to purchase and maintain energy-efficient information technologies (§301); establish a federal data center energy metric, energy practitioner program, and open data initiative (§302); and establish a pilot project for energy or water conservation in multifamily housing (§303).

Title IV would revise certification requirements for Energy Star program partners (§401); require an ongoing review of private sector green building certification systems (§411); extend existing federal building energy efficiency targets (§421); expand existing efficiency standards for new federal buildings to cover major renovations (§422); and require federally issued home mortgages to consider efficiency (§423).

Title V prescribes how pay-as-you-go compliance would be achieved (§501); and specifies that authorized funding amounts would require appropriations (§502).

Provisions Are Derived from Previous Bills

The provisions in S. 385 trace back to congressional action on a sequence of bills that were considered in the 113th and 114th Congresses. Table 1 shows the evolution of those provisions. Prior bipartisan action to modify or otherwise perfect the provisions peaked in the 113th Congress. Thirteen provisions proposed as amendments to S. 1392 were added as new provisions in S. 2262. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE)—which has stated support for S. 385 and its predecessors—estimated an energy-saving potential for S. 2262 of 1.8 quadrillion Btu (quads) annually by 2030,with an associated annual cost-saving potential of $16.2 billion. More details about S. 2262 are available in CRS Report R43524, S. 2262, Shaheen-Portman Bill 2014: Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act.

Early in the 114th Congress, the provisions of S. 2262 (113th Congress) were split into two bills, S. 535 and S. 720. S. 535 contained five of the thirteen "new" provisions in S. 2262, and it was enacted as P.L. 114-11. S. 720 was introduced with virtually all of the other provisions in S. 2262. The provisions of S. 720 (S.Rept. 114-130) were later incorporated into S. 2012, a much broader bill. The Senate passed its version of S. 2012 in April 2016 and the House approved its version in May 2016. Table 1 shows some key differences between the two versions. Progress on reconciling the differences stalled due to a lack of conference committee action on S. 2012. More details about S. 2012 appear in CRS Reports R44291 and R44569. The provisions of S. 385 are nearly identical to those in S. 720.

Support and Opposition

The elements of support and opposition over S. 385 may parallel those for S. 720 (114th Congress) and its predecessor, S. 2262 (113th Congress). Thus, S. 385 may enjoy support from many groups that supported S. 2262, including a variety of businesses, industry associations, and trade groups. The bill may also face opposition from conservative groups like the Heritage Foundation and its affiliated advocacy group, Heritage Action, which opposed S. 2262.

Table 1. S. 385, Evolution of Bill Provisions

(House and Senate versions of S. 2012 only show provisions related to S. 385)

Policy
Provision

S 385
2017
(115th Cong.)

S. 2012
[Senate]
2016
(114th Cong.)

S. 2012
[House]
2016
(114th Cong.)

S. 720a
2015
(114th Cong.)

S. 2262
2014
(113th Cong.)

S. 1392b
2013
(113th Cong.)

Model Codes

§101

§1001

§3141

§101

§101

§101

Worker Training

111 and 112

1007 and 1008

9001

111 and 112

111 and 112

111 and 112

Schools

121

1003

3131

121

121

no provisionc

Industry

202 and 203

1201

no provision

202 and 203

202 and 203

202 and 203

Supply Star

211

no provision

no provision

211

211

211

Motor Rebate

221

1101

no provision

221

221

221

Transformer Rebate

231

1102

no provision

231

231

231

Federal Agency Info. Tech

301

1009

3111

301

301

301

Federal Agency Data Centers

302

1011

3112

303

303

303

Multifamily Buildings

303

1002

no provision

304

304

no provision

Energy Star Certification

401

1104

no provision

401

401

no provision

High Performance Green Federal Buildings

411

1019

no provision

411

411

no provision

Energy Performance Requirement for Federal Buildings

421

1015

3116

421

431

no provision

Federal Building Efficiency Standards

422

1016

3117

422

432

no provision

Underwriting

423

1502

no provision

423

433

no provision

Voluntary Verification

no provision

1106

3122

431

441

no provision

Budget Offset

no provision

no provision

no provision

no provision

501

401

Source: Various bills, as noted in the table.

Notes:

a. Five provisions in S. 2262 did not appear in S. 720, but were put into a separate bill, S. 535, which was enacted as P.L. 114-11. They included three "better buildings" provisions, grid-enabled water heaters, and energy information for commercial buildings.

b. S. 1392 was a trimmed-down version of S. 761 (113th Congress). S. 761, in turn, was a trimmed-down version of S. 1000 from the 112th Congress.

c. The table specification of "no provision," means that there was no directly equivalent provision in a bill, even though there may have been a related provision.