House Bill 2454: More than clean energy.

Rep. Ed Markey and Rep. Henry Waxman. AP.

If Representative Henry Waxman (D-Ca.), the chairman of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, has his way, the federal government may soon be telling you what you can and cannot do when it comes to improvements on your home. House Bill 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, the baby being hastily delivered to term by Henry Waxman, contains sweeping language that would not only regulate how businesses, especially energy companies, operate in this country but also have a tremendous impact at the very heart of American life, the home.

This seven hundred plus page bill which President Obama would like to see pushed through Congress as quickly and quietly as possible has many provisions which our elected representatives will probably never bother to read before they vote on it. In the rush to demagogue environmental concerns surrounding climate change, they are willing to undercut the progress being made through normal market forces with the heavy handed intrusion of the federal government. Nowhere is this more evident than in Section 201 of the bill which would assert the federal authority to regulate building codes.

Over the last 10 years there has been tremendous progress in the area of energy efficiency and sustainability in the design and construction industry. This has been driven by a variety of market forces; technological innovation, consumer awareness and demand and increasing environmental concerns among designers and builders. This process has been accelerating among single and multi-family homebuilders and looks to continue that acceleration into the future, spreading increasingly into both commercial construction and remodeling. " Green building " has been the bright spot in the industry during this ongoing recession and its growth future is off the charts.

With programs like Green Built Colorado and E-Star, the energy efficient and sustainable house is becoming the norm, not the exception. Regardless of size, consumers are demanding more and the industry is responding.

Building codes have been a local jurisdiction. While the same principles apply, there is local variation due to the climate, topography and zoning differences found throughout the country. This is one of those areas of life, whose regulation is not enumerated in the constitution to the federal government, thus reserved for the states and their component entities. In attempting to create a national energy building code, with punitive requirements for non-compliance, Rep. Waxman is seeking not simply to bring uniformity and change to America's building practices, but also to extend the reach of the federal government deeper into everyday American life. Energy efficiency is becoming the standard for the construction industry, mandating it from Washington will neither hasten the process nor improve the result. It will create another layer of bureaucracy over individual Americans and increase the costs of both construction and technological innovation. This will also further dampen economic development and job production by erecting more cost barriers in front of the consumer.

In Washington's rush to overhaul America's free enterprise system, increasing government micro-management is not the solution. Washington is a quagmire for innovation and responsiveness. Local markets are where we see the flexibility to respond to societal changes. Inserting the heavy hand of Washington into the process of improving energy efficiency in construction undercuts natural market forces which are producing positive results and also opens the door for further federal dictates on how we choose to live our lives in the future. As with all legislation coming out of Washington, the Devil truly is in the details.