Despite all the political wrangling, energy efficiency is a winning, bipartisan topic of great appeal in Congress. This was on display last Monday when the US House of Representatives voted to unanimously pass the bipartisan Energy Efficient Government Technology Act (H.R.1268). This bill would, among other things, help increase federal data center energy efficiency.

“Today, the world generates more data in twelve hours than was generated in all of human history prior to 2003,” said the bill’s leading Democratic sponsor, Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA-18). “This data must be stored and processed at data centers which are the backbone of the 21st century economy but can be highly energy inefficient. My legislation saves the federal government energy and taxpayer dollars by requiring the use of energy efficient and energy saving technologies, specifically in federal data centers. I’m pleased to see this important policy once again pass the House, and I look forward to its swift consideration in the Senate.”

To view floor debate of the bill’s passage, please click here.

The text of the Energy Efficient Government Technology Act has wide support in Congress, as it is included in the larger House and Senate energy bills, H.R.8 and S.2012.