Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2013
Floor Speech
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Mr. WICKER. The amendment I have introduced with Senator Landrieu addresses a number of issues that are important to America's forest products industry. In particular, the amendment specifies that the Department of Energy and the General Services Administration must allow the use of multiple green building rating systems. A voluntary standard endorsed by the Federal Government can wield immense influence over green building specifications in the Federal sector and broader commercial marketplace. DOE and GSA must support competition and allow the free market to produce the best energy-efficient buildings at the lowest costs.
The intention of section 406(3)(G) of our amendment is to direct GSA and DOE to adopt a policy that provides equitable treatment to all domestic sources of sustainable wood. It is simply unacceptable for the Federal Government to endorse a standard that discriminates against domestically sourced, sustainable U.S. wood.
Wood is an ideal green building material because it is renewable, stores carbon, and is energy efficient. According to objective criteria, the majority of the domestic wood products industry is sustainably managed and endorsed internationally. In addition, the forest products industry employs nearly 1 million men and women in well-paying jobs, including more than 123,000 in my home State of Mississippi. There is no reason to shut out the wood products being produced in our own backyard in favor of imported substitutes. Our intention is to provide an equal playing field that keeps Mississippi wood--as well as wood from other states--a vital component of federal green building policy.
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Mr. WICKER. I thank the Senator. We believe this amendment is a step forward to ensure GSA and DOE's green building policies support domestically sourced wood. I look forward to working with the Senator and committee leadership as this legislation moves forward.
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