Home Star passes in House
The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association today applauded passage yesterday of the "Home Star Energy Retrofit Act" (H.R. 5019) by the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 246 to 161. The legislation, sponsored by Reps. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Vern Ehlers (R-Mich.), will provide temporary consumer incentives to stimulate energy-efficient home improvements.
"The building material industry has experienced significant job loss during the housing and economic crisis of the past few years. Retailers of building materials alone have lost over 140,000 jobs since 2006," said NLBMDA president Michael O'Brien. "Incentives for improving home energy efficiency, such as those that would be created by the Home Star program, are powerful tools to drive consumer purchases that in turn drive the restoration of jobs across the building supply chain."
NLBMDA also expressed disappointment at the rejection of the Boswell Amendment to the Home Star legislation, which would have delayed application of the EPA Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (LRRP) to Home Star-funded retrofit projects for one year. The amendment was sponsored by Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa).
"NLBMDA has continued to raise concerns about the impact of the LRRP on the success of Home Star," said O'Brien. "Without enough certified renovators, trainers and accurate test kits, there simply may not be enough qualified installers to perform Home Star-funded retrofit work."
The House must still appropriate the $6 billion authorized for the Home Star program. The U.S. Senate has not yet scheduled consideration of the legislation.
