Thank you to all who signed on to letter to support Energy Star by yesterday's deadline!
A few more opportunities are below:
- Energy tax incentives: The Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) and Clean Energy Business Network (CEBN) are jointly organizing a sign-on letter for organizations and businesses calling on Congress to protect energy tax incentives. As Congress considers tax reform, it is important to protect long term business certainty in the tax code for energy tax credits that have enjoyed decades of bipartisan support, spurred job creation, bolstered energy security, and boosted domestic manufacturing. Join us in calling on Congress to protect these key tax incentives and ensure business certainty and affordable energy into the future.
And updates from the AIA Government Affairs Forum:
- Resilient and Efficient Codes Implementation (RECI) grant program: ACEEE is organizing a response to proposed cuts to the Department of Energy's Resilient and Efficient Codes Implementation (RECI) grant program. Per a recent email we got from ACEEE, "under recent executive orders the Department of Energy is preparing sweeping lists of projects and programs to cut-dozens of current RECI grants are on draft lists that have leaked, and the whole codes program is in jeopardy." They are suggesting that people and organizations contact their Governors and Members of Congress and ask them to contact DOE and express their support for the RECI program.
- AIA Advocacy Spring into Action Campaign: To ramp up our engagement efforts in April and May, the Advocacy team is conducting a Spring into Action campaign to encourage members to contact their members of Congress in any and every way–on the phone, online, or in person. This week, our focus is on tax policy as Congress makes decisions via the budget process. Members can call or email their Members of Congress to urge them to protect critical tax policies.
- We're also asking that members share their stories. We use these stories in our advocacy to Congress. Please include these calls to action in your state and local newsletters, it really does make a difference. Here's what one member shared regarding the tax policies we're trying to protect:
- "As a small business trying to survive in New York City, we compete directly with large, national and international firms. We rely on the existing R&D tax credit, 199A Pass-Through Deduction to maintain our razor-thin profit margin. These are literally the difference for us between profit and loss. Please keep them in place."
- New Executive Order: The President issued an Executive Order yesterday that purports to aim for removal of state-level "obstacles" to domestic energy production, citing national and economic security. It argues that state and local governments are creating illegitimate impediments via "climate change" policies that threaten American energy dominance. The order directs the Attorney General to identify and halt state laws that he feels are burdening domestic energy resources and submit a report on actions taken, as well as recommend further presidential or legislative action.
- AG review must include state laws, regulation, causes of action, policies and practices. Collectively referred to as "State laws.";
- Focus is on State laws that inhibit the development of specific types of domestic energy resources (oil, natural gas, coal, hydropower, geothermal, biofuel, critical mineral, nuclear energy);
- AG is to look for State laws that includes the phrases "climate change," "environmental, social, and governance," "environmental justice," or "greenhouse gas;"
- AG is directed to "take all appropriate action" to stop enforcement of State laws that meet the above criteria, if the AG determines that they are illegal.
And COTE published this article / resource in the previous COTE newsletter: Safeguarding tools & data: a running list of sources. Please let us know if you have any additional sources to share. https://communityhub.aia.org/blogs/kira-l-gould/2025/02/13/safeguarding-tools-data-a-running-list-of-sources
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Lisa M. Ferretto; AIA, LEED, WELL, EcoDistricts AP
Sr. Director, Climate Action and Design Excellence
The American Institute of Architects
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