The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“POWER AND SECURITY SYSTEMS (PASS) ACT” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H566-H568 on Jan. 23, 2017.
The Department oversees energy policies and is involved in how the US handles nuclear programs. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, said the Department's misguided energy regulations have caused large losses to consumers for decades.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
POWER AND SECURITY SYSTEMS (PASS) ACT
Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 511) to provide for consideration of the extension under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of nonapplication of No-Load Mode energy efficiency standards to certain security or life safety alarms or surveillance systems, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 511
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Power And Security Systems
(PASS) Act''.
SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF NONAPPLICATION OF NO-LOAD MODE ENERGY
EFFICIENCY STANDARD TO CERTAIN SECURITY OR LIFE
SAFETY ALARM OR SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS.
(a) Section 325(u)(3)(D)(ii) of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6295(u)(3)(D)(ii)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``2015'' each place it appears and inserting ``2021''; and
(2) by striking ``2017'' and inserting ``2023''.
(b) Section 325(u)(3)(E) of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6295(u)(3)(E)) is amended--
(1) in clause (ii), by striking ``July 1, 2017,'' and inserting ``the effective date of the amendment under subparagraph (D)(ii)''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(iv) Treatment in rule.--In the rule under subparagraph
(D)(ii) and subsequent amendments the Secretary may treat some or all external power supplies designed to be connected to a security or life safety alarm or surveillance system as a separate product class or may extend the nonapplication under clause (ii).''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton) and the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. DeGette) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.
General Leave
Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the Record on the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Michigan?
There was no objection.
Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 511. I would note that this is our colleague Mr. Welch's bill that moved through the regular process through the Committee on Energy and Commerce last year. It received extensive bipartisan support. I am again glad to move this bill today.
External power supplies, EPS, are used with a wide variety of devices, and we have learned from experience that the Federal energy efficiency standards for them are not compatible with some of these applications. In particular, we need an exemption from these rules for security and life safety alarms and surveillance systems. This bill, H.R. 511, the Power And Security Systems (PASS) Act, provides a targeted exemption that allows these critical systems to stay on the market.
Devices like home security alarms or fire detection systems need to be on 24/7, but the 2007 energy law requiring energy efficiency standards for external power supplies did not allow for this. Subsequent legislation created an exemption for external power supplies used with these always-on devices. This exemption will end on July 1 of this year. This bill extends that exemption until 2023.
The result of the bill would be that these important security systems will continue to be available, preserving the jobs of those who make them and certainly the safety of those who use them. As with H.R. 518, the other external power supply bill that we are addressing today, these provisions enjoyed strong bipartisan and bicameral support when they were added to last year's energy bill. They also passed under suspension last year.
I urge my colleagues to once again vote ``yes'' on this measure.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in support of H.R. 511, the Power And Security Systems, or PASS, Act. As Chairman Upton said, this bill will provide an important technical exemption for certain security and life safety products from energy efficiency standards set forth in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
As Mr. Upton said, a provision in the law increased the energy efficiency requirements for battery chargers and external power supplies, something which this side of the aisle very strongly supported. However, the provision also mistakenly included security and life safety products and required that they be manufactured with a standby mode despite being products that are inherently always on.
Without providing this correction, the security industry will need to spend millions of dollars to comply with an energy standard that will yield no energy savings and could cost jobs, which, of course, was never the original intent of the law.
I am pleased that my colleagues Representatives Welch and Brooks have reintroduced the bill, which the House passed last year but the Senate failed to move before the end of the last Congress.
This is a commonsense and consensus fix to a simple problem. The language was developed by both industry and efficiency advocates, with technical assistance from the Department of Energy. It should come as no surprise that this bill enjoys broad support from the security industry and energy efficiency advocates. I urge all of my colleagues to support it.
I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Vermont
(Mr. Welch).
Mr. WELCH. I thank my colleagues for their support, the former chairman of the committee and now chair of the Subcommittee on Energy. He is a very important person over there, and there are no words I could convey that would meet the reputation of Mr. Upton. I thank him and Ms. DeGette very much.
They have said a lot of the specific content of this bill. This is a situation where Congress passed a good law. There was a provision in it that needed to be corrected, and, lo and behold, Congress is correcting that provision. It is about these security devices that obviously can't operate on no-power mode. They have got to be on. When the bad guys come in, we have got to be watching. That is really what this is all about.
It is a combination of the bipartisan commitment that we have had to energy efficiency, especially last year. I do give Mr. Upton a lot of credit for this. We have had a lot of debates in this Congress about climate change, about the science, and aside from--we don't need to get into that--to embrace as we have in a bipartisan way, there are enormous benefits to efficiency every single place we can find it.
This efficiency bill originally was applying to all these devices to put them in no-load mode. That was cutting down on use of electricity. It was cutting down on carbon emissions. It was saving people money. But the no-load obviously couldn't apply to security devices.
Last year, Mr. Pompeo, when he was a Congressman, supported this, and now that he is going to be our leader in the CIA, he knows you have got to keep that watching device on when the bad guys are lurking around.
We are back this year. One of our first bills to be passed and hopefully signed by the President is the extension of the correction that we made sometime ago. I am delighted to be here with my colleagues in support of this legislation, getting this House of Representatives off to a constructive start.
Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I urge passage of the bill.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I just again urge my colleagues to support this good bipartisan bill. I appreciate the kind words always by Mr. Welch. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 511, the
``Power and Security Systems Act of 2017, which will revise energy conservation standards for devices operating in standby mode.
In the early 1970s, I recall, as many of my colleagues do, the impact to our nation's economy when OPEC nations withheld oil from the United States causing one of the greatest peace-time energy shortages in United States history.
One of the remedial steps taken by the Carter Administration was the promulgation of regulations that required large appliances and equipment that used electricity to default to a power down mode when not in use.
Today, we take for granted that machines power down when not in use, but this one change in energy policy over the last 4o years has saved taxpayers, which includes businesses and private homes, billions of dollars in energy costs.
This was only one policy solution that was used to reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil so that energy could go to vital services like fuel for electricity generation, gasoline, heating fuels, and diesel oil.
H.R. 511, the bill before us would extend energy conservation to digital technology that can operate in standby mode.
Most digital device technology manufactures already provide sleep mode on their devices to assist their users in conserving power on cellphones, smartphones, MP3 players, e-book readers, as well as desktop and laptop computers.
Today, 68 percent of U.S. adults own a smartphone, up from 35 percent in 2011, and tablet computer ownership has edged up to 45 percent among adults, according to newly released survey data from the Pew Research Center.
Considering not just smartphones, but all types of mobile phones, Pew notes that cellphones continue to top of the list.
Roughly nine-in-ten American adults or 92 percent own a mobile phone of some kind.
Although these mobile devices are ubiquitous today, the share of adults who own one has risen substantially since 2004.
Smartphone ownership is nearing the saturation point with some groups: 1. 86 percent of those ages 18-29; 2. 83 percent of those ages 30-49; and 3. 87 percent of those living in households earning $75,000 and up annually own smartphones.
These facts highlight the importance of energy conservation for mobile communication users.
The battery life for these devices is limited and without power they are of no use to the user.
This bill will help users remain connected as long as possible because the energy consumption on their cellphones and other digital devices will be minimized when they are not in use.
Energy conservation will also assist consumers during times when power outages may occur due to weather or other electricity disruption.
The longer power life for cellphones will benefit consumers by reducing the amount of electricity needed to recharge their personal devices.
This bill will also benefit businesses that often have many computers that when in use can consume electricity if left on after business hours--especially over weekends.
For these reasons, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 511.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 511.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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