Washington, D.C. -  Today, Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis (D-CA), a member of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming and the House Energy and Commerce Committee, delivered the following statement at today's Select Committee hearing on Building Green, Saving Green: Constructing Sustainable and Energy-Efficient Buildings.

"Chairman Markey, thank you for holding today's hearing. Improving building construction, design and retrofits can significantly reduce energy consumption, improve efficiency and reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

"Investments in green building are also an important source of clean, secure, green jobs. I am proud that California, led by cities such as San Francisco, is demonstrating by example that it pays to build green.

"I am pleased that Mayor Newsom could join us today t talk about what San Francisco is doing to encourage green building. I am concerned that we may be ignoring the importance of needed green building improvements in low-income communities.

"Low-income consumers already pay a greater share for energy as a portion of their budget and have less elasticity. They suffer from higher rates of asthma, lead poisoning, and exposure to asbestos.

"The impacts are magnified due to the struggle with disparities in health-care access. Low-income communities can significantly benefit from green building designs.

"I am proud to have fought for provisions in the House-passed HOPE VI Improvement and Reauthorization Act to require all new HOPE VI revitalization grant housing to meet the Green Communities Criteria.

"Yet the application of these standards must be the beginning, not the end, of our efforts to ensure that green building improvements are incorporated in our nation's underserved communities. We must also focus on green building in our nation's schools, particularly those in low-income communities and Title I Schools.

"The Los Angeles Unified School District, which I represent, was the first district in the state of California to adopt sustainability standards of the Collaborative for High Performance Schools.

"LAUSD is currently in the midst of a $19.2 billion new construction and modernization program and is seriously considering efforts to green the schools through this process.

"Yet Title I schools, including those in the district I represent, struggle with already shrinking budgets and other educational challenges. For these schools, finding ways to green their buildings is an even greater challenge.

"I hope that today's witnesses can address strategies for ensuring that green building advancements are fully incorporated in low-income communities and our nation's schools. I yield back the balance of my time."

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