Advocacy is not just about legislative matters. Sometimes advocacy is about making public statements on regulations that are matters of principle, often taking the form of letters of opposition or support.
The AIA has submitted a letter of opposition (attached) to the Trump Administration’s recent proposal to exclude climate change impacts from the evaluation of infrastructure projects under the National Environmental Policy Act. The changes to the regulations being considered may make it easier to plan and permit infrastructure projects, but it would put such critical public investments at greater risk and worsen global greenhouse gas emissions. As the AIA is committed to the health, safety and welfare of t he public as well as sustainable and resilient design, they are opposed to this policy change.
In recent months, the AIA has written and published many such letters of opposition. In October, 2019, the AIA wrote to the Environmental Protection Agency and the US Army Corps of Engineers opposing the proposed repeal of the 2015 Clean Water Rule of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Act that would counter the scientific conclusion that the quality of the US’s waterways was directly connected to public health. In August, 2019, the AIA wrote to the Department of Energy in opposition to Administration’s proposal to roll back energy efficiency standards for light bulbs, and to the EPA opposing the Administration’s proposal to weaken existing methane emission standards from sources such as commercial refrigeration systems.
The AIA has also joined with business and industry partners to signed-on to letters of support for several Federal legislative and budgetary proposals. These have included letters to House leadership and the House Ways and Means Committee on such matters as supporting the passage of the Home Energy Savings Act and the New Home Energy Efficiency Act, protect the funding of the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), the ENERGY Sar Program, and the 179D energy efficient building tax deduction.
Although not always as visible to the AIA membership as public testimony before Congressional hearings, these public statements are an important way for an organization like the AIA to tell both public officials and its membership where they stand.
Download the letter> AIA_Letter_to_Trump_Administration_on_National_Environmental_Policy_Act_Weakening_FINAL.pdf