Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2015
Latest action. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 210.
Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2015
This bill revises a variety of programs to encourage energy efficiency in buildings, industry, the federal government, and certain appliances.
TITLE I--BUILDINGS
Subtitle A--Building Energy Codes (Sec. 101) This bill amends the Energy Conservation and Production Act (ECPA) to require states and Indian tribes to measure and certify their compliance with certain residential and commercial building energy codes by a specified deadline.
The Department of Energy (DOE) must: (1) provide technical and financial support to states and Indian tribes for developing stretch codes and advanced standards for achieving even greater energy efficiency in buildings, (2) update model building energy codes to achieve energy savings targets, and (3) submit annual reports on compliance with those codes and any improvements in energy savings resulting from those targets.
DOE must study the feasibility, impact, economics, and merit of: (1) codes requiring buildings to become zero-net-energy; (2) code procedures to incorporate measured lifetimes, not just first-year energy use, in trade-offs and performance calculations; and (3) legislative options for increasing energy savings from building energy codes.
DOE must: (1) support the updating of model building energy codes, and (2) provide technical assistance to organizations that set model building energy codes and standards.
Subtitle B--Worker Training and Capacity Building
(Sec. 111) DOE must provide grants to establish building training and assessment centers at institutions of higher learning to:
identify and promote opportunities, concepts, and technologies for expanding building energy and environmental performance;
promote the application of emerging concepts and technologies in commercial and institutional buildings;
train engineers, architects, building scientists, building energy permitting and enforcement officials, and building technicians in energy-efficient design and operation;
assist institutions of higher education in training building technicians;
promote research and development for the use of alternative energy sources and distributed generation to supply heat and power for buildings;
coordinate with and assist state-accredited technical training centers, community colleges, Tribal Colleges or Universities, and local offices of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture; and
The summary continues for 38 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to Senate with amendment(s)" stage on September 9, 2015. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 9, 2015: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 210.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 114th Congress (2015-16), 329 of the 10,233 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.2 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced it on March 11, 2015, and 14 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 8 Democrats, 6 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 11, 2015, 4201 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4019 days ago, on September 9, 2015.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 114th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2017 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers