Sponsors (8)
Prevents federal green-building certification systems from denying certification solely because a building consumes fossil fuels and directs DOE to issue new regulations within 180 days.
The bill trades stronger short-term protection for building owners and clearer regulatory rules against weaker near-term incentives to electrify federal buildings, which could slow federal decarbonization and raise long-term energy costs for taxpayers.
Federal employees and building occupants: occupied federal buildings that continue to use fossil fuels remain eligible for green or high-performance certification, avoiding sudden loss of certification and disruption to building operations.
State and local governments, building owners, contractors, and utilities: the Department of Energy is required to issue clearer, uniform rules within 180 days, reducing regulatory uncertainty and making compliance and planning easier.
Taxpayers and energy-sector owners: third-party certification systems cannot use a fossil-fuel ban as the sole criterion to exclude buildings from federal green programs, protecting owners from being shut out of federal incentives based on energy source choices.
Taxpayers and the public: the bill may weaken incentives for electrifying or shifting federal buildings away from fossil fuels, slowing greenhouse gas reductions from federal property and reducing the federal contribution to climate goals.
State and local governments, utilities, and contractors: repealing existing Subpart B rules could create a temporary regulatory gap or lower performance expectations until DOE issues replacement rules, causing implementation delays and confusion.
Taxpayers and federal building occupants: allowing continued eligibility for fossil-fuel systems could delay investments in higher-efficiency electric systems and increase lifecycle energy costs paid by taxpayers over time.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits federal green-building and energy-certification systems from denying or withholding high-performance or green certification solely because a building directly or indirectly uses fossil fuels. It repeals two lifecycle-performance subclauses from federal law and preexisting DOE regulatory text, treats those subclauses as never having taken effect until new DOE rules are issued, and requires the Secretary of Energy to issue implementing regulations within 180 days.
Official title: To amend the Energy Conservation and Production Act to repeal certain Federal building energy efficiency performance standards, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 23, 2025 by Nicholas A. Langworthy · Last progress April 27, 2026