Huffingtonpost.com:
The Senate is scheduled Thursday to debate an energy efficiency bill that includes measures to improve building codes and promote more energy efficiency in the federal government.
While some Republicans are seeking an amendment to the bill that would force a debate on delaying the implementation of health care reform, some less controversial amendments include this one from Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.).
Coburn’s proposed amendment (via Politico) would amend the bill by changing a line that calls for “providing information to employees of the Federal agency on the importance of turning off the lights” at the end of the day to “requiring employees” to turn off the lights before they go home.
There are some safety issues here that need to be taken into consideration. Additionally, how about directives from the heads of agencies being used instead of passing a bill that must become a law? Government offices are all over. Not all are in the position to turn out the lights when the workers leave. Some people work in to the night. Should we have late workers walking through dark corridors?
This proposed law seems like a simple answer for a complex problem. It seems that agency heads should be given a directive for an energy assessment and where possible possible, direct employees to shut off lights. Once again, the Senate is guilty of over-reaching.
