The Alliance Reacts to the Budget, Lugar Advocates Oil Drilling and Other News

With the federal budget’s release and Capitol Hill events like Great Energy Efficiency Day (GEED), the Alliance has had a busy month. President Kateri Callahan took to the National Journal’s Energy & Environment Expert Blog to comment on House legislation that would cut billions of dollars to clean energy research and Environmental Protection Agency programs. While the national deficit must be addressed, said Callahan, cutting energy efficiency programs won’t make a meaningful difference to the deficit but will “rob American families today of savings in avoided energy costs.”

• As budget woes continue, energy efficiency advocates are looking toward Secretary of Energy Steven Chu as he defends President Obama’s budget proposal, said Floyd DesChamps, the Alliance’s Senior Vice President of Policy and Research. [Politico]
• Director of Development Chuck Wilson not only works on spreading the word about energy efficiency while in the office — he does it in his community, too. He brought about an idea to his University Park, Md.,’s town council to start a community-wide effort to save energy, which he hopes will serve as a model for others. “There are dozens of towns like this across the United States that are small and run by volunteers,” he said. “This is designed to work with those.” [The Washington Post]
• Sen. Richard Lugar, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, garnered attention after advocating for oil sands pipeline approval during his keynote speaker speech at GEED. [Scientific American, Reuters Africa]
• Kevin Kampschroer, Director of the Federal High-Performance Green Building Program at the General Services Administration — the “landlord for the civilian federal government” — was honored by the Alliance with its Unsung Hero award. The recognition is particularly timely as the House tries to slash funding for building operations, much of which is under the Green Building Program’s purview. [Natural Resources Defense Council]