Status of Energy Star

• By: admin
• On: 07/07/2025 18:41:46
• In: Codes & Standards
• Comments: 0

Energy Star @ BOMA Convention - BOMA Special Report: Will Energy Star Survive '25? - Commercial Property Executive

Authorization of the program:
BOMA and others maintain that because Energy Star was initiated under the '92 Clean Air Act Amendments and then officially stood up in the 2005 Energy Policy Act, the only way to end the program is to introduce legislation and move it through the process. This takes time and BOMA will be there at every step educating why the Energy Star portfolio manager program serves America's interests. 

Who runs Energy Star:       
The EPA and Dept. of Energy (DOE) share jurisdiction over the program. My understanding is that the retail side of the Energy Star program (I.e. blue labels you see on appliances at Home Depot or Lowes) used by appliance manufacturers is mainly housed in the EPA, while the Portfolio Manager portion is mainly in the DOE.    

Funding Energy Star:
The Energy Star program is funded through two appropriations bills – the Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill, which funds the EPA, and the Energy and Water Appropriations bill, which funds DOE. 
There is 12 appropriations bills Congress must pass every year to fund the government.  The House of Representatives and the Senate must pass their bills and if there is a single difference (there always is) then it must be resolved before the bill can be sent to the President for his signature or veto. 

• Energy Star funding is roughly $32 million annually. 
• Due to the rules in the Senate, the minority (Democrats) have the ability to hold up the bills giving them leverage in negotiations. 
• If Congress fails to pass the funding bills by the beginning of the fiscal year on October 1, 2025, then a continuing resolution (CR) will be needed.  It can be for 24 hours or the whole year, as happened last year.     
• A continuing resolution funds all programs at the prior year level.  So, if Congress ends up with a full year CR like last year, we can expect the Energy Star program to receive roughly $32 million.
• This year the process may go off the rails early because the Democrats view the recission bill that is currently moving through Congress as breaking prior agreements, so if any agreement they make this year can be broken by the President at any time, why bother negotiating.  Until they get an agreement they believe will not be violated, the process will end in a CR.   Vote must happen by July 18th. 
• Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has been telling Senate Democrats that a successful rescissions vote risks upending the FY2026 appropriations process.

Status of Appropriations (spending) bills:
The House has made some progress with its appropriations work, passing one bill so far and advancing four others out of committee. House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) says he wants to complete all 12 markups by July 30. Yet even the typically bipartisan bill to fund the Department of Veterans' Affairs garnered only two Democratic votes on the chamber floor. It underscores how a process that once relied on buy-in between the two parties has become a largely partisan exercise — a risky situation for Republicans who can lose only three votes on their side of the aisle for party-line legislation.

• Interior & Environment spending bill was scheduled to be taken up in late June, but extended debate on another spending bill caused it to be postponed.  No rescheduled date given. 
• Energy And Water spending bill was scheduled to be marked up in the subcommittee on July 7 and then in the full committee later this week.  However, since the normal July 4th recess week was cancelled so Congress could pass the One Big Beautiful Bill (tax bill/ reconciliation) – House Leadership cancelled the session for the rest of this week.  No rescheduled date given. 

Traditionally Congress tries to pass all 12 spending bills before going into their month-long summer break.  This means that as of next Monday, July 14, there will be only three weeks before they are scheduled to adjourn again on August 1.