The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is urging Congress to reject the White House’s FY2026 budget proposal. The proposal would hurt the American people and businesses by gutting essential programs that have long had bipartisan support.

The budget would severely reduce and in some cases eliminate the critical role that Federal agencies play in strengthening U.S. competitiveness and technological leadership, lowering energy costs, reducing demand on overstressed electric grids, improving resilience, and enhancing air quality.

“These programs have delivered incredible benefits to the American people and our economy for decades, whether through cost-saving energy efficiency gains or the development of groundbreaking energy and high-performance building technologies,” said Elizabeth Beardsley, senior policy counsel, USGBC. “This proposal ignores that progress and would leave us less prepared for the future. And beyond that, it would have far-reaching negative consequences for businesses across the country at a time when there is already tremendous economic uncertainty.”

USGBC is especially concerned about the proposed cuts at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which would include the elimination of the hugely successful ENERGY STAR program; sharp cuts to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the Department of Energy (DOE); and cuts to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and to research and science across the government that support long-term data collection, technological innovation, weather forecasting and other core functions that help us plan for the future.

“The ENERGY STAR program alone delivers billions of dollars in energy cost savings to U.S. consumers and businesses every year on a budget of just $32 million,” Beardsley said. “Thousands of product manufacturers, utilities, real estate companies, and local governments rely on the program to create value, adopt energy efficiency practices, and manage energy use; shuttering it would only cause confusion and raise costs.”

In the coming weeks and months, USGBC will advocate for a reasonable budget that maintains the services that the Federal government is uniquely qualified to provide, and to follow through on the investment in the future enacted in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Further, USGBC is asking Congress to take steps to ensure the Administration does not unilaterally implement its proposed cuts and dismantle programs outside of the Congressional appropriations process.