MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE
by Michael Wolraich
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Congress Halts Military Spending on LEED
By Donal on Wed, 12/28/2011 - 2:53pm |
[Defense bill] H.R. 1540 ... prohibits use of Department of Defense funds to achieve LEED Gold or Platinum, with waivers possible if a cost-benefit analysis for the project can demonstrate payback. Exceptions may also be made without a special waiver if achieving Gold or Platinum “imposes no additional cost.” ...
The bill “represents a rollback of the federal government at the forefront of pushing green building and LEED,” according to green building attorney Shari Shapiro, Esq. “Over the last five years, the federal government has been one of the largest customers for LEED,” she says. Shapiro sees indications in other legislation that Congress is trying to “push back at the use of LEED particularly but also green building in general.”
The General Services Administration (GSA)... has responded to executive orders by requiring LEED Gold certification for all new construction and major renovations of federal buildings - putting GSA and Congress on a potential collision course.
[Hard to say what is driving this. Many of our private clients want us to design to LEED standards - but don't want to get enmeshed in the USGBC documentation process. At the same time, building codes are starting to incorporate LEED-like language, which would require the same efficiency without USGBC.]
URL:
http://greensource.construction.com/news/2011/12/111227-Congress-Halts-Military-Spending-on-LEED.asp
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