Sen. Joe Manchin unveiled a bipartisan legislation to create water and energy usage standards for federal government buildings. The Federal Energy and Water Management Performance Act will formally establish the Federal Energy Management Program, an initiative to validate low-cost approaches in saving energy and water resources through partnerships with public and private sector organizations, the Department of Energy said Friday.
“With forty percent of our nation’s energy consumption attributed to buildings, and the federal government being the largest energy consumer in the nation, its common sense to authorize the Federal Energy Management Program at the Department of Energy to help our federal agencies operate in a more energy efficient manner,†said Manchin.Â
Additionally, the bill hopes to help federal buildings reduce 54 percent in water usage and 2.5 percent annually in energy usage by the end of 2030. Manchin co-authored the bill with Sens. Rob Portman, Jeanne Shaheen, Lisa Murkowski, Cory Gardner and Mazie Hirono.
