Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2008

Floor Speech

MILITARY CONSTRUCTION AND VETERANS AFFAIRS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008 -- (House of Representatives - June 15, 2007)

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Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I first want to thank Chairman Edwards and Ranking Member Wicker, Mr. Obey and others, particularly my coauthor, Ms. Harman, on this amendment.

As Congress tackles climate change legislation and examines ways to promote energy efficiency, it is so important that the Federal Government set a proper example, taking the lead in commonsense conservation measures. Some would say this is an amendment that sets a shining example for the rest of the country.

The Federal Government has to be the world's largest consumer of light bulbs, and with this amendment, we will likely save American taxpayers probably as much as $100 million.

Why Energy Star light bulbs? Well, current incandescent bulbs on store shelves are obsolete, and they're highly inefficient. In fact, only 10 percent of the energy consumed by each bulb is for light, with 90 percent wasted on unnecessary heat.

Energy Star light bulbs use about 75 percent less energy than the standard incandescent bulbs, as they last as much as 10 times longer. In fact, if every house in the Nation switched to Energy Star bulbs, we would have the potential to annually reduce the emissions equivalent of 80 coal-burning plants each year, saving 65 billion kilowatts.

This amendment will make the Federal Government a shining example of how we can conserve energy, one light bulb at a time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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