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Dear Members:
After two years of advocating that Buildings Are Infrastructure, AIA’s climate and equity goals took a big step forward with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (H.R. 5376). At the same time, AIA’s advocacy also contributed to the substantial additional potential for firms to thrive by dramatically increasing 179D deductions almost three-fold for qualifying projects. AIA advocacy priorities for building codes, climate tax incentives and affordable housing were included in the legislation currently headed to President Biden’s desk. While there is still more work to do, this legislation includes provisions that are critical to AIA’s goals for protecting the environment and addressing equity.
Among those provisions are:
- Tax incentives for energy-efficient commercial and residential buildings
- $330 million in grants to states and local governments to adopt the latest energy codes
- $670 million for jurisdictions to adopt zero-energy stretch codes
- $4.3 billion for a residential energy rebate program
- $4.275 billion for an energy-efficient electric home rebate program
- $1 billion for grants and loans to improve energy efficiency and resilience in affordable housing
There is a memorandum prepared by the AIA Advocacy and Relationships Department that provides a deeper dive into the specific provisions of import to architects. Additional details regarding specific provisions of the legislation are available from the Congressional Research Service.
This could not have happened without your advocacy and tenacity. Architects met with their Members of Congress, sent Action Alerts, and made your voices heard. AIA spent months working with members of Congress and their staffs to make sure the priorities of architects and design professionals were considered and included in the legislation. These measures will bring us closer to our goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the availability of energy-efficient affordable housing for the future.
Sincerely,
Mike Davis, FAIA
Chair, AIA Government Advocacy Committee
Lakisha Ann Woods, CAE
EVP/CEO, American Institute of Architects
Dan Hart, FAIA
2022 President, American Institute of Architects
