Federal Buildings Personnel Training Act of 2010

Floor Speech

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 3250. This bill has bipartisan sponsorships in the Senate by Senators Carper and Collins. It is the Federal Buildings Personnel Training Act. The legislation passed the Senate by unanimous consent, and it is identical to H.R. 5112, introduced by me and my Republican colleague, Representative Judy Biggert of Illinois. The bill also passed out of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on a voice vote.

At a time when many people are tired of partisan gridlock here in Washington, I believe this legislation is a good example of what we can do when we work across the aisle to accomplish commonsense legislation that will safeguard taxpayer investments, will provide certainty to small business and, most importantly, will save taxpayers money.

Madam Speaker, when we invest in our Federal facilities, we also need to invest in the people operating and maintaining them. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included a substantial investment of $5.5 billion apportioned to the GSA to upgrade its facilities. In order to safeguard this substantial investment, I want to ensure that GSA and other Federal agencies have the tools necessary to properly maintain and operate these buildings at their highest performance levels.

Late last year, a Government Accountability Office report found that a lack of proper expertise and training was a major challenge for the Federal Government in reaching its energy reduction goals. This legislation will fill the training gap. Most importantly, by filling the training gap, the Federal Buildings Personnel Training Act will save taxpayer dollars on operations and maintenance costs.

The Federal Government currently consumes about 2 percent of the Nation's total energy, or about $17.5 billion in annual energy costs. The potential for cost savings here is huge. In fact, a recent study by the International Facility Management Association showed that for every dollar spent on facility management training, organizations reported receiving an average of $3.95 in return. If we are to be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars, in addition to investing in energy-efficient buildings, we must invest in the people maintaining those buildings so we can recoup the largest energy and cost savings possible.

This legislation will help ensure that our Federal buildings are run in a way that maximizes their performance, assuring that they retain value throughout their lifecycles and that the taxpayer investments in these properties are both protected and leveraged to reap the cost savings involved with efficient operations and management.

I want to personally thank the Republican cosponsor, my colleagues, Representative Pete Sessions and Representative Judy Biggert, for their support throughout this process. Representative Biggert and I cochair the High-Performance Buildings Caucus and we have continually advocated for the Federal Government to lead by example in high-performance building practices.

I also want to give special thanks to Chairman Oberstar--for his long and distinguished leadership on this issue--and to Ranking Member Mica for their support to bring this bill to the floor.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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