Progress Illinois

Republicans in Illinois are looking for all sorts of ways to justify their vote against the cap-and-trade bill. Strangely, two congressman have settled on one of the least controversial and most effective sections: energy efficiency standards.

Earlier this month, Rep. Peter Roskam went on WLS Radio’ Don Wade & Roma and imagined a scenario in which a "bureaucrat out there with a pocket protector and half-glasses" could prevent someone from selling his or her home because it did not meet new criteria approved in the House climate bill." More recently, Rep. Don Manzullo painted a similar picture on KROC, suggesting that if state energy efficiency standards are federalized, "a bunch of guys who live in apartments, probably in Manhattan," would make the final decision on whether or not a home can go on the market." Listen here:

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MANZULLO: What this means is it’s a complete usurping of state and local zoning and building codes by this arbitrary federal code made up by a bunch of guys who live in apartments, probably in Manhattan ... and that’s how bad this bill is.

Let's review the underlying details again. First of all, the proposed zoning codes will only apply to new construction projects, not buildings that already exist. Secondly, the General Assembly approved its own building energy code measure before leaving Springfield this year. (Before that, it was only one of seven states not to have such a law on the books.) Once it is signed by the governor, the state's Capital Development Board must adopt the most recent version of the International Energy Conservation Code within nine months and apply it to any new construction. In other words, Illinois will be forced to deal with new standards whether or not Congress takes action. And lastly, these improvements to the building code are undoubtedly good for both the environment and consumers. A new study from consulting firm McKinsey found that investing $520 billion nationally in energy improvements to homes and businesses could produce $1.2 trillion in savings on energy bills through 2020 while cutting the country’s projected energy use by about 23 percent.

Unfortunately, Manzullo wasn't done. Later in the KROC interview, he whacked Section 204 of the cap-and-trade bill, which establishes a building energy performance labeling program for homes and commercial property. The Republican argued that the provision is "onerous" and will "bring down the value of your home because you have to make all of these improvements."

Again, this is quite misleading. Affixing a label to a house explaining the property’s energy efficiency would not be required under the bill. Anyone nervous about the results could just ignore it. The provision is actually included to help consumers. The NRDC explains:

The average person knows more about how efficient their refrigerator or car is than their home, but they will spend much more on the home than anything else they own. This lack of information is what allows building owners to keep wasting energy despite the best intentions and keeps other interested parties, like prospective owners, tenants, or financiers, from having any idea what kind of energy costs they are committing to.

Standing up for the environment and consumers was never Roskam or Manzullo's strong suit. But it would be nice if they could argue using facts, not wild accusations.

Image courtesy of Cal Skinner.