USGBC Supports President Obama’s Plan to Get Americans Back to Work

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) commended President Obama last week for taking action to put people back to work and for helping ensure a stronger America.

"The country's infrastructure—our buildings, our roads, our transit and our bridges—are in desperate need of investment, and the thousands of building sector professionals and small businesses, hard hit by the struggling economy, can be put back to work overnight. … We offer our full support to President Obama's proposal and to the passage of the American Jobs Act," said USGBC President and CEO Rick Fedrizzi.

Fedrizzi also said $130 billion a year could be saved if there were greener, more efficient buildings, and this type of investment would also create plenty of well-paying jobs in the process.

"Specifically in commercial buildings, we know fixing the tax incentive for energy efficient commercial buildings, Section 179D, could create 77,000 additional jobs in energy efficiency. I hope Congress will strongly consider this common sense tax fix," he said. "Just as importantly, our homes, our neighborhoods and our schools are in need of significant improvement."

Fedrizzi continued, "By investing in our built environment, we stimulate our economy, we save energy, save people money, put Americans back to work and create a strong foundation for continued global leadership."

Source: U.S. Green Building Council