Efficiency First

Efficiency First founding member Dan Thomsen blogs the recent lobbying trip to Washington, D.C.

Day one: An incredible view of the Capitol

By Dan Thomsen, President, The Building Doctors

Earlier this month I joined Efficiency First members and another group called the National Save Energy Coalition to lobby Congress on behalf of the proposed REEP legislation. I spent the first day and the morning of the second day with the NSEC group, including a dinner with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and a meeting at the White House with Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Obama’s chief energy and climate policy coordinator, Carol Browner – exciting stuff.

Energy Secretary Chu’s presentation was a real highlight of my trip. One of the things he said that stood out from his speech was, “The cost of not doing something is we will lose the chance to lead in this next Industrial Revolution.”

During the question-and-answer session that followed I was fortunate enough to ask Secretary Chu the last question of the session. I introduced myself and told him I was there to make people aware of the REEP legislation. I asked him how the Retrofit Ramp-Up program was proceeding. He went into great detail, explaining some of the test programs they are working on with the goal to retrofit city blocks at a time.

He then proceeded to tell the story of his experience with an insulation contractor when he was at Stanford a few years ago. He said he got three bids and chose the lowest one, to his regret. They were supposed to blow 10 inches of cellulose in his attic, but when he got home they had only put in two inches. He proceeded to explain to the crowd that there are tools out there now that can show when insulation is installed improperly, like an infrared camera. I piped in, “Secretary Chu, I brought mine with me to show these Congressman what they actually do.” He laughed and said, “I guess I should have used you then.”

Energy Secretary Steven Chu (right) with Commerce Secretary Gary Locke at the White House

Secretary Chu continued on telling more about the Retrofit Ramp-Up, and at the very end of his answer I added this last statement, even though I don’t think I was supposed to talk. I said, “Secretary Chu, please keep in mind when you and your staff are writing this legislation that all retrofit work should be done by BPI-certified people and companies because we are held to the highest standard. He said that he is aware that we (BPI-certified contractors) are the best of the best and they are adding that to the legislation.

I cannot tell you what an honor and privilege it was to speak with this Nobel prize winning member of Obama’s staff. It is obvious he is very passionate about clean energy and efficiency for the United States.

After leaving the White House, I hooked up with the Efficiency First group, which was 36 members strong and represented 15 states. Our initial orientation began at 1p.m., then we broke up into four smaller groups in which we would be visiting offices.

I had what I thought was a meeting with Senator Barbara Boxer at 2 p.m. at the Hart Building with the NSEC group. It ended up being just a photo op, so I caught up with my Efficiency First group, which was already meeting with Kelly and Mathew Bowen, aides to Senator Mark Udall of Colorado. Our group had four people from Colorado, two from New York, and myself from California. Senator Udall is already for clean energy, but it was great to get his people caught up on the specifics of REEP.

Our next meeting was with Congressman Hall of Texas. He is the oldest member of Congress at 86 and a Republican through and through. He was on the floor voting, so for the first 15 minutes we spoke with his aide. When the Congressman showed up, he was still very focused on the health care issue and went into great detail of how the Democrats were wrong on this issue and how wrong Obama was. It became very obvious to me that we had our work set out for us. We were finally able to talk about the REEP legislation, and I was happy to hear the congressman say that he agrees with energy efficiency but he would not be voting for anything that had to do with cap and trade.

At B. Smith's I got to meet Rep. Peter Welch of Vermont, author of the REEP bill

A few of us had to duck out early for our meeting with Senator Dorgan of North Dakota and jumped in a cab to make it over to the Hart Senate offices. Our meeting went well with the senator’s aide, Jonna Hamilton. She also agreed with the benefits of the REEP legislation, although not a fan of cap and trade legislation.

We went back to B. Smith’s Restaurant in Union Station to regroup for a mix and mingle and a working dinner. It was great to finally meet many of the people I have read about and seen on the Efficiency First site. I finally got to meet the infamous Matt Golden of Sustainable Spaces and president of Efficiency First, as well as the other members of the board. Congressman Welch, who is the author of REEP, came by for a short visit and graciously thanked us for making the decision to write the REEP legislation such an easy one. We wrapped up the day with more networking at B. Smith’s bar.

Early the next morning, my group met at the Circle Café in Union Station to get ready for our 9 a.m. meeting with Congressman Perlmutter of Colorado. His aide Amanda Slater was very knowledgeable about REEP and fully supported it.

I skipped the meeting my group had with Senator Begich of Alaska, although I heard it went well. I had an impromptu meeting with Congressman Patrick Murphy from Pennsylvania. He is a cosponsor of REEP and a huge supporter of the legislation. I know him on a personal basis and wanted to say hello while I was in town and to remind him and his staff about some of the finer points of REEP. Like most of the others on the Hill, his time is consumed with the health care debate. He was able to spend a few minutes catching up and do a little REEP talk. I then sat down with his energy adviser, Marc Boom, and talked in greater detail about REEP. It was quite obvious to all of us that these senators and congressman have so many things going on and that they depend on the support and knowledge of their aides to keep them abreast of what is going on and what is important and what is not.

I raced over to our 11 a.m. meeting at Senator Barbara Boxer’s office. Her aide, Bridget Patusok ,was very knowledgeable about REEP and was thankful for us reassuring her and Senator Boxer that there are jobs that will soon be created once this bill passes. On our way to lunch, our fearless leader Amy Jarvis took a picture of us by the Capitol.

Members of the Efficiency First delegation on the Capitol steps

Our next meeting was with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Kara Saul Rinaldi (Efficiency First’s Washington lobbyist) joined our group and we met with Pelosi’s energy adviser, Karen Wayland. Again we reassured her of the jobs soon to be created, as well as the savings Americans are going to have on their utility bills.

The other two California members had to leave to catch their flights back home, so it was just Amy, Kara, Linda and myself at the next meeting. This meeting was particularly important to me because it was with my Congressman, Diane Watson. Unfortunately, she was on the floor in a vote, but her aide, Jillian Schlotter, was very helpful and knowledgeable. I suggested that when Rep. Watson comes back to Los Angeles that we find a home to test, of her choosing, so I can demonstrate what is involved in a quality energy audit, and we could have press there to help spread the word.

Since our group was small, we tried to join the meeting with Congressman Markey of Maine. All of us wanted to meet the co-author of the American Clean Energy and Security Act. However we were not the only ones with that idea, and it ended up with over 20 people at that meeting. A few of us split off and went to our last meeting with Congressman Thompson of Northern California. His aide, Jonathan Birdsong, was very knowledgeable about REEP and made some great suggestions.

We then went across the street to the Capitol Hill Brewery and had a great meal. I truly enjoyed this part of the trip because I really got to spend some quality time getting to know fellow Home Performance contractors, share marketing ideas, and stories.

The most refreshing thing that I take away from this trip is that all of the members of Efficiency First, who came to lobby the Hill, have a great passion for our industry and are willing to work together to achieve the same goals in our field. I know we made a difference the past few days, but realize this is just the first step towards a bright and efficient future.