VA Provides Encouraging Progress Report on Going Green

NEWS FROM…
CHAIRMAN BOB FILNER
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Kristal DeKleer at (202) 225-9756
http://veterans.house.gov

VA Provides Encouraging Progress Report on Going Green 

Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, September 30, 2009, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Bob Filner conducted a hearing to examine the efforts made by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to meet its Green Initiatives set out in Presidential Executive Order 13423, which sets goals for federal agencies to improve energy efficiency, reduce water consumption, and generally increase the sustainability of building and work practices.  The hearing further explored green initiatives within the hospital environment.

“As federal agencies, I firmly believe that responsibility to the public is a must, and that we – as lawmakers and executors of the federal government – must set the example in energy, water and fuel conservation, with the hopes of having corporate and mainstream America follow,” said Chairman Filner.  “I am pleased that the VA has reported to our Committee that it is taking extraordinary efforts to not only meet the goals of the Executive Order, but exceed them.”  

Executive Order 13423 sets goals for federal agencies that include improving energy efficiency 3% annually, reducing water consumption by 2% annually, acquiring goods and services that use sustainable environmental practices, reassessing new construction and major renovation of agency buildings, requiring increased use of renewable energy sources, and reducing use of petroleum products by motor vehicle fleets by 2 % annually through 2015.  Currently, VA is the third highest agency in energy consumption intensity and the third highest in water consumption intensity; however, Veterans Health Administration energy intensity is lower than the national average for hospitals. 

Tom Hick of the U.S. Green Building Council explained the importance of greening federal buildings: “By leveraging the unparalleled purchasing power of taxpayer dollars to support green building, the federal government can not only reduce its significant environmental footprint, but also speed the adoption of green building strategies by the private sector, and save real dollars and resources through reduced utility bills and operating costs.  The potential environmental and economic savings are extraordinary. If the federal government were to re-commission its entire building stock and achieve the estimated 15 percent reductions in energy use, it could generate more than $650 million in annual energy savings and eliminate roughly 2.7 million tons of carbon in one year.” 

In February 2009, Congress passed the American Recovery and Investment Act (Recovery Act) which allocated approximately $405 million to energy management related projects to VA.  Currently, the value of projects awarded to increase the energy efficiency at VA’s facilities has grown to almost $24 million.

James Sullivan, Director of the Office of Asset Enterprise Management at VA, offered the following long-term plan for the Green Management Program: “We are dedicating over $400 million in Recovery Act funds to make facilities more energy efficient and to add solar, wind and other renewable energy capacity.  Activities such as these that help ‘green’ our world are the right thing to do.  They improve our well-being and ensure a healthy planet for the generations to come.  Reducing our energy and environmental footprint is not only the right thing for VA to do, it is the smart thing.  Each action we take to reduce, reuse and recycle energy, water and other resources has the potential to generate cost savings that VA can redirect to its core mission of caring for our Nation’s Veterans and their families.  Our agency has established a tangible goal for each and every employee to integrate energy and environmental considerations into their day-to-day activities and into all VA operations and long-term planning processes.”

Filner concluded: “While I applaud the VA’s efforts to go green, I think it’s imperative that we not forget the most important mission of the VA and that is caring for veterans.  I would like to thank the experts that provided beneficial insight into better managing energy demands at private hospitals and providing better care to their patients.  We need to ensure that the very specific needs of our veterans are being met at hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes, and make certain their care is not degraded or impacted by the efforts in becoming more energy efficient.” 
WITNESS LIST
Panel 1
·       Gail Vittori, Co-Director, Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems
·       Tom Hicks, Executive Director, U.S. Green Building Council
·       Jane M. Rohde, AIA, FIIDA, ACHA, AAHID, LEED HP, JSR Associates, Inc., on behalf of the Green Building Initiative
·       James L. Hoff, DBA, Director of Research, Center for Environmental Innovation in Roofing

Panel 2
·       Kevin Kampschroer, Acting Director, Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings , U.S. General Services Administration
·       Richard G. Kidd IV, Program Manager, Federal Energy Management Program , U.S. Department of Energy

Panel 3
·       James M. Sullivan, Director, Office of Asset Enterprise Management, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Accompanied by
o       Edward L. Bradley, III, Director, Investment and Enterprise Development Service, Office of Asset Enterprise Management
o       John D. Stenger, EIT, BSME, Director, Healthcare Engineering, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Operations and Management, Veterans Health Administration
o       John D. Beatty, Director of Safety, Health, Environmental and Emergency Management, Veterans Health Administration
###
Prepared testimony and a link to the webcast of the hearing are available on the internet at this link:  http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/hearing.aspx?newsid=466