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As House turns from blue to red, will 'Green the Capitol' survive?
Gallery: Out with the old...
The Republican takeover of the House means a complete turnover of committee chairmen. TOOLBOX
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Other environmental changes are more likely to survive.
The Capitol Power Plant has switched from burning coal to natural gas, and won't be going back. The compact fluorescent light bulbs are here to stay. And some green initiatives predate the current majority - the Capitol Christmas tree was first adorned with LED lights in 2005, when the GOP was in charge.
A report released in April by House officials boasted that Green the Capitol has reduced energy consumption in House office buildings by more than 20 percent, reduced water use by more than 30 percent and saved or recycled more than 2,000 tons of paper.
"We hope the program continues given its success in fostering energy efficiency and saving taxpayers money," Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said.
Advocates for the initiative say its cost savings should appeal to Republicans regardless of their environmental views.
"What I think Green the Capitol has shown is that reducing greenhouse gases doesn't cost, it pays," said Scott Slesinger, legislative director at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "Even if you don't believe in climate change you have to believe in saving money on utilities."
The 111th Congress: By the numbers
From the stimulus and health-care legislation to financial reform and the pending tax-cut deal, Congress has had a weighty agenda these last two years. But has the 111th Congress - which could end as soon as this weekend - been unusually productive? Let's go to the numbers.
The latest data aren't available yet, but through Nov. 30, members in the two chambers had introduced a total of 13,429 bills and resolutions this Congress, while holding 2,236 recorded votes and filling 45,711 pages of the Congressional Record.
Most importantly, the 111th Congress had enacted 285 bills into law through November. That's fewer than any Congress going back at least two decades. Asked why, Senate Historian Donald Ritchie suggested two reasons.
"One is that the trend over time has been to combine things - bills are getting bigger, there are more pages in them and fewer bills get passed," Ritchie said.
The second reason Ritchie cited was health-care reform.
"They spent a very large percentage of their time in the last session on one big bill and that backed everything up," he said. "They had a more focused set of priorities, I suppose."
