D.C. Hotline: Home Star still glimmering
Home Star has finally been introduced in both houses of Congress after many months of industry input. Both the House version (H.R. 5019) and the Senate version (S. 3177) have bipartisan support. As exciting as the prospect of this industry stimulus may be, the question remains: Does this have any chance of passing?
For the uninitiated, Home Star would provide point-of-sale rebates to consumers who purchase and install energy-efficient products. The bill authorizes $6 billion, and many building material dealers should be able to participate as they already provide installed services for these products. The rules may change, of course, but a potential challenge for the smaller dealers lies in the inherent difficulty of floating potentially thousands of dollars in rebates, while waiting on Uncle Sam for reimbursement.
Funding the program will also prove difficult and, probably contentious, as both political parties are squabbling on the price tag and where the money should come from. Most here on Capitol Hill seem to think that if neither bill is brought to their respective floors before the August recess then we’ll have to wait until next Congress to try it again.
Jeremy Stine is manager of government and public affairs for the NLBMDA (