Rationale

The National Center deserves the full support of industry and the Federal government for the following reasons:

• Buildings and real estate are essential engines of the economy and the advancement of building technology is critical to sustaining and enhancing the value of real estate and the jobs and industrial investment that derive from real estate.
• The health and well-being of Americans, who typically spend the majority of their time indoors, is determined in part by the indoor environmental quality and efficiency of the buildings which they occupy, which in turn depends upon the continuous advancement of building technology.
• The global environment, the economy, and national security depend on continuing improvements in energy efficiency and productivity in the American economy, which can be significantly improved through the advancement of building technologies.
• US taxpayers, rate-payers and industries currently support many activities intended to improve the efficacy of buildings.  A National Center is needed to improve the focus of these activities and to enhance the speed and efficiency with which these activities are delivered for broad public benefit.