House Will Run Project On Saving Electricity

The U.S. House of Representatives has chosen a federal institution not known for its published scholarship to run a $25 million research project to test new ways of saving electricity.

Its choice: The U.S. House of Representatives.

The proposal, contained in House Resolution 1196, was approved by the House Administration Committee on Wednesday. It calls for House Chief Administrative Officer Daniel P. Beard to carry out "a series of demonstration projects" using the House as a laboratory for conserving electricity and even making renewable energy.

The idea of a more eco-friendly capitol isn't new: Since Democrats took over the House in 2007, the chief administrative officer has led a "Green the Capitol" initiative aimed at making Capitol Hill (or at least the House's side of it) a national showcase.

For now, it's not clear on what, exactly, the House would spend $25 million in fiscal 2010. The bill does not mention specific ideas for reducing the House's part of the Capitol complex's total $52.4 million annual power bill.

"There's no specific thing this authorizes. But it does authorize to be creative and to save money," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), one of its sponsors. She said it seems far more likely that only $2.5 million will actually be budgeted by the House Appropriations Committee for fiscal 2010.

The bill was criticized by two Republicans during a debate in the budget committee but passed over their objections.

"We shouldn't be in the business of doing these types of demonstration projects," Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.) said afterward. He cited the controversy over an effort last year to "green" the lights that illuminate the Capitol dome. Experts noted at the time that, even if the $671,900 contract somehow reduced the dome's power use to zero, the move wouldn't pay for itself for about 45 years.