Gita Subramony for Zondits, March 20, 2015
Last year, the bipartisan-supported Shaheen-Portman Act failed to pass due to political bickering. The act seeks to help the federal government become more energy efficient, and is largely non-controversial. However, political fighting over provisions that would take decision-making capabilities away from the executive branch on the Keystone XL pipeline stalled the bill. The current version of the bill has support from both Republicans and Democrats. However, the American Institute of Architects has expressed concern that the bill in its current state would gut energy conservation goals for federal buildings, rendering the bill more or less useless for achieving reduced energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions reductions goals.