On the Hill: Legislative Briefing on High-Performing Historic Buildings
About the Briefing
On April 15, 2009, the Congressional Historic Preservation Caucus and the High Performance Building Congressional Caucus Coalitions teamed together to sponsor a legislative briefing on Capitol Hill on high-performing historic buildings.
The event was held to educate members of Congress and their staffs about the intersection of preservation and energy efficiency, including sustainable characteristics and performance criteria of historic buildings; strategies for improving the performance of historic buildings with new technologies and products; and examples of high-performing historic buildings.
Doug Read, director of government affairs for American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers, moderated a discussion with panelists Emily Wadhams and Patrick Lally of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Ralph DiNola, principal of Green Building Services in Portland, Oregon.
About the Sponsors
The Congressional Historic Preservation Caucus was formed in 2003 as a forum for Congress to discuss ways to protect and revitalize America's historic places and structures, as well as to focus on historic preservation's important role in economic development and neighborhood revitalization. The caucus also serves as a clearinghouse for members seeking information and sharing ideas on national, tribal, state and local issues and opportunities in historic preservation.
The High-Performance Buildings Caucus was formed to heighten awareness and inform Congress about the major effect buildings have on our health, safety and welfare and the opportunities to design, construct and operate high-performance buildings that address these areas. Fundamental to these concerns include increasing energy efficiency in the built environment and assuring buildings have minimal climate change impacts and are able to respond to changes in the environment. The caucus supports the development of standards, codes and guidelines that address these concerns.
