Today, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy unanimously voted to advance the Federal Mechanical Insulation Act (H.R. 3474) to the full committee for consideration.
Pete Ielmini, Executive Director of the Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, applauded the vote and support of the legislation.
“I am pleased to announce that H.R. 3474, the Federal Mechanical Insulation Act (FMIA), was unanimously adopted today by the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy,” he said. “On behalf of the broad coalition of business interests and labor unions, we applaud Congressman Randy Weber’s leadership and support of the official legislative advancement of this important bill. The FMIA will advance federal energy efficiencies, save American tax dollars and reduce energy loss and emissions for the approximately 350,000 federal buildings across the United States.
“We thank the coalition for its support of the FMIA, and we appreciate the efforts of supporting associations, companies and labor unions that have promoted the legislation,” added Ielmini. “We look forward to working with all interested parties to continue to advance the Federal Mechanical Insulation Act as it moves toward final passage.”
In his opening statement on the markup of eight bills, Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy, called the FMIA a bipartisan, commonsense measure.
“Energy efficiency, not bans, are important to prioritize for our federal buildings,” he said. “I look forward to considering H.R. 3474, the Federal Mechanical Insulation Act, which is bipartisan legislation to require an assessment of whether Mechanical Insulation should be installed or updated in federal building energy audits. This is a common sense measure that truly prioritizes energy efficiency.”
If passed and signed into law, the FMIA will advance federal energy efficiencies, save tax dollars and reduce energy loss and emissions. It will also add an important audit metric for regulators to include when assessing federal buildings’ measure of Mechanical Insulation efficiencies.
The Federal Mechanical Insulation Act should require examination of Mechanical Insulation during energy audits, which are already mandated every four years for federal buildings. It also defines mechanical insulation properties as products that meet the ASHRAE Reference Standard 90.1.
Introduced by Rep. Weber (R-Texas), who owned an air conditioning company for over 35 years, the bill only impacts federally owned buildings.
“It is a bipartisan targeted bill to increase energy efficiency in federal buildings, lowering the cost to our taxpayers,” said Weber. “This very straightforward legislation requires an assessment to determine if Mechanical Insulation should be updated or installed during a comprehensive water and energy evaluation of those same federal buildings. To be clear, this bill is not a mandate, nor does it impact privately owned buildings. When it comes to increasing energy efficiency and lowering costs to taxpayers, assessing the benefits of upgrading or installing Mechanical Insulation in federal buildings is low-hanging fruit.”
He pointed out that the winners in this bill are the taxpayers.
“The federal government is actually the largest consumer of energy in these United States, with a significant portion of this consumption coming from over 300,000 federally owned buildings,” Weber said. “By adding this consideration, the federal buildings stand to significantly improve their energy efficiency. Simply put Mr. Chairman, in a time when each and every electron and dollar matter now more than ever before, this bill ensures your federal government is operating more efficiently than ever. The Federal Mechanical Insulation Act prioritizes true energy efficiency, and I hope and urge my colleagues to support this legislation.”
A relatively unknown feature outside of the construction industry, properly installed Mechanical Insulation can make an impact on bottom lines.
It provides large-scale and long-term energy efficiency, emissions reductions, cost savings and safety benefits at manufacturing facilities, power plants, refineries, hospitals, universities and government buildings, while creating thousands of American jobs. Nearly all Mechanical Insulation is manufactured in the U.S.
Beneficial to every sector, Mechanical Insulation is a time-tested technology that offers a quality Return On Investment. From minimizing energy losses to reducing safety risks due to mold, Mechanical Insulation provides savings from day one.
Additional savings will occur as properly installed Mechanical Insulation can help extend the life of mechanical systems by limiting lost energy. This means the system will not work as hard and will likely last longer than a mechanical system that has been regularly pushed hard for years.
Visit our page for more information on the FMIA.