AIA President RK Stewart, FAIA, issued a call to action from the AIA national convention floor May 4 for AIA members to contact their U.S. senators to support legislation that would reduce the amount of energy used in new and significantly renovated federal buildings. The measure would require an immediate 50 percent reduction, with further reductions every five years until all new and renovated federal buildings are carbon neutral by 2030.

Two weeks ago, New Mexico Sens. Jeff Bingaman, a Democrat, and Pete Domenici, a Republican, introduced S. 1115, the Energy Efficiency Promotion Act. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has since signed on to the measure. The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, by a 20–3 vote on May 2, passed an omnibus energy bill that included the majority of the energy efficiency provisions that were in the chairmen’s bill, including the AIA's energy reduction targets. The bill now moves to the Senate floor, where it will be debated shortly before Memorial Day.

“I’m asking that all AIA members contact their own senators to support this provision, which is in an omnibus energy efficiency bill that the Senate will soon debate,” said Stewart. He noted that the comprehensive bill includes a provision advocated by the AIA to reduce and eventually eliminate the carbon footprint of federal buildings.

Moments after Stewart spoke in San Antonio, the AIA Government Affairs team sent an e-mail alert to AIA members urging them to contact their senators via the AIA Government Advocacy Center, which enables AIA members to send messages to their House and Senate representatives.