Press Releases

WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) and U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) introduced legislation to make public facilities both more energy efficient and better prepared for future public health emergencies. The Open Back Better Act would authorize funding for energy efficiency and resiliency retrofit projects in schools, medical facilities, government buildings, education institutions, libraries, and more.

The legislation promotes environmental justice by prioritizing low-income, COVID-19 impacted communities. Funded energy efficiency and resiliency retrofits could include project components designed to improve safety and indoor air quality. This is particularly important as the United States continues to confront the COVID-19 pandemic and looks to build back our economy. 

“As we continue to rebuild our economy from this ongoing public health pandemic, we must be intentional about how we rebuild. This pandemic has shown the inextricable link between our health, our environment, and our economy. That is why we must build back a stronger, cleaner, healthier, and safer economy—especially for communities of color and low-income communities who are overburdened by pollution, have experienced staggering rates of COVID-19 mortality, and have been hit hardest by the economic downturn,” said Rep. Blunt Rochester. “The Open Back Better Act of 2021 will ensure that our nation’s critical infrastructure, like hospitals and schools, is more resilient, more energy efficient, safer, and more reliable to guard against future threats, while creating good jobs and prioritizing the communities hit hardest by this pandemic.”  

"COVID-19 has exposed the urgent need to update aging infrastructure in public buildings to be better prepared for future emergencies" said Sen. Smith. "When we make these improvements, we should promote energy efficiency and resiliency so that we're building back better for the environment too. This bill makes deliberate investments in communities of color and low-income areas because they are disproportionately affected by pollution and have been hit by COVID-19 the hardest. It will also help our economy rebound by spurring job creation in the energy efficiency field. I look forward to working with Rep. Blunt Rochester to move our legislation forward."

“This bill would put thousands of people to work upgrading schools, airports, hospitals and other critical public buildings that are badly in need of improvements. By tapping into the long-term energy cost savings from efficiency gains, it is a cost-effective way to create safer, more resilient facilities with sharply reduced greenhouse gas emissions and lower operating costs,” said Alliance to Save Energy President Paula Glover. “And it ensures that disadvantaged communities receive a fair share of the investment. The Alliance applauds Rep. Blunt Rochester and Sen. Smith for their leadership on this effort, and we look forward to seeing this legislation signed into law.” 

“The Open Back Better Act is a key part of building our nation’s resiliency and infrastructure, and will create many jobs while reducing harmful emissions,” said Timothy D. Unruh, PhD, National Association of Energy Service Companies (NAESCO) Executive Director.

“I applaud Rep. Blunt Rochester and Senator Smith for reintroducing the Open Back Better bill, which will improve the resilience, health and safety of schools and hospitals and will utilize private financing to improve the energy efficiency of these buildings,” said David Terry, Executive Director of the National Association of State Energy Officials.

“The Federal Performance Contracting Coalition (FPCC) supports this legislation that will improve our country’s critical infrastructure by using private sector expertise and funding. Additional funding in this bill for the AFFECT program, in partnership with the private sector through performance contracts, will increase the value of these investments at least fivefold, allowing our military and other federal facilities to include modernization and resilience measures that reduce energy use as do traditional energy conservation measures,” said the Federal Performance Contracting Coalition (FPCC).

The Open Back Better Act of 2021 would authorize funding to States, federal buildings and Tribes to:

• Upgrade public buildings, making them safe to re-open via improvements such as to reduce threats from COVID 19 and improve indoor air quality.
• Create good jobs doing critical, long-neglected upgrades in our schools, hospitals, and other public buildings.
• Prioritize environmental justice through projects targeted at low-income, COVID impacted communities.
• Reduce emissions and lower operating costs by improving building energy efficiency.

This legislation is endorsed by: National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), Insulators Union, National Association of Energy Service Companies (NAESCO), Federal Performance Contracting Coalition

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