The Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2011 (REINS Act) passed in the House on Dec. 7. This Act requires that any regulatory activity that has an economic impact greater than $100M must be approved by both the House and Senate before going into effect. The bill has been introduced in the Senate, but is not yet up for vote. While some feel this will force regulators to think twice before rulemakings and thereby reduce the regulatory burden, others claim it will cause lengthy delays waiting to get on the Congressional calendar and create a situation whereby all members of Congress will need to be educated on the details of the regulations, introducing further delays.
A confounding issue is created since original legislation (if it is enabling legislation) gives rulemaking authority to the applicable agencies of the Executive branch. This could affect how legislation is written if the authors want to avoid having the ensuing regulatory process amended.
On December 2, President Obama
announced nearly $4 billion in combined federal and private sector energy upgrades to buildings over the next 2 years. This investment includes a $2 billion commitment, made through the issuance of a
Presidential Memorandum, to energy upgrades of federal buildings using long term energy savings to pay for up-front costs, at no cost to taxpayers.
The Department of Energy's Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) will provide technical assistance and project facilitation in support of Federal Agencies' achievement of this goal. FEMP provides technical expertise ranging from building efficiency improvements, renewable energy installations, water use reduction, and operation and maintenance optimization that are ready to assist Federal Agencies. Furthermore, FEMP maintains performance contracts with Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) to provide private investment and expertise for Federal Agencies to finance and install energy efficiency improvements to federal buildings with no up-front costs. FEMP will work with each agency to develop a plan to fulfill this goal in conjunction with the Agency's Strategic Sustainable Performance Plan (SSPP).