Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2008

Floor Speech

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008 -- (House of Representatives - June 22, 2007)

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Ms. LINDA T. SÁNCHEZ of California. Madam Chair, I rise in support of H.R. 2771, the legislative branch appropriations bill. I want to thank Chairwoman Wasserman Schultz, Ranking Member Wamp, and the appropriations staff for their hard work in crafting this fiscally responsible bill.

The bill on the floor today is ``lean and mean,'' providing just the resources that we need to serve the people in an honest, transparent manner.

I strongly believe that as our Nation's elected leaders, we have a responsibility here in the people's House to lead the Nation in creating an environmentally friendly workplace. This is why I crafted two amendments for today's bill that would have directed the Architect of the Capitol to take small but significant steps toward ``greening'' the Capitol complex.

I am pleased that Subcommittee Chairwoman Wasserman Schultz shares my support for the Speaker's Greening of the Capitol Initiative. Since she has enthusiastically agreed to consider them during conference, I won't be offering them today.

But I would like to draw the House's attention to these two initiatives because they demonstrate how small investments can reap large rewards.

Both initiatives were drawn from the Greening of the Capital report recently
completed by the Architect of the Capitol, and both are endorsed by the American Society of Landscape Architects.

The first initiative would study the feasibility of constructing a ``green roof'' on the Ford House Office Building. A green roof is a rooftop that is carefully planted with vegetation. It can be anything from a simple plot of grass to a park-like setting.

Green roofs have proved to be tremendous economic and environmental benefits. They are great insulators, reducing heating and cooling costs often by as much as 25 percent. And they save on maintenance costs as well since they are more protective than traditional roofs. Green roofs cool the surrounding neighborhood by reducing the amount of heat that is reflected back into the surrounding atmosphere, the so-called urban heat island effect. Vegetation on green roofs celebrates our natural heritage and also absorbs rainwater, reducing contaminated runoff.

Even with all these benefits, green roofs have not caught on. They are not very popular yet in the United States. And as Members of Congress, we now have the opportunity to lead by example. A successful demonstration of the economic benefits of green roofs right here in the Capitol Complex can help promote green roofs across the Nation.

My second proposal concerns the planting of more trees around parking lots in the Capitol Complex. My colleagues who closely follow environmental issues already know that trees have a remarkable ability to reduce the air temperature in our urban areas. Trees remove carbon from our atmosphere, shade our buildings and cars, and even reduce asthma by filtering out air pollutants. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, this proposal would even save the taxpayers money.

Without action this year, many of the Speaker's Greening of the Capitol Initiatives, including the two I have just discussed, won't get funding until 2009 or 2010. These proposals would get us started modestly but promptly and don't require additional funds.

I look forward to working with Chairwoman Wasserman Schultz to incorporate these projects into the legislative branch's plans for 2008.

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