Welch’s Home Star bill gathers momentum ahead of Thursday vote |
Wednesday, 05 May 2010 00:00 | |
U.S. Chamber and National Association of Manufacturers call it 'key vote' The day before the U.S. House votes on Rep. Peter Welch's (D-Vt.) Home Star Energy Retrofit Act (H.R. 5019), the job-creating legislation garnered new support from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the Obama administration. Both the U.S. Chamber and NAM announced Wednesday that all votes related to the passage of Home Star would be considered in their annual legislative scorecards. Also on Wednesday, the Obama administration released a statement of support, "applaud[ing] the bipartisan efforts that have brought H.R. 5019 to the House floor."
The announcements add to a list of more than 500,000 businesses and organizations that have rallied behind the legislation, which will create 170,000 jobs and help three million American families save money on their utility bills. "This bipartisan bill has brought together business, labor, environmental and consumer groups to fight for new jobs and energy savings," said Welch, a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. "Home Star is a practical, common sense way to spur job creation in construction, manufacturing and retail, while helping families save money on their utility bills." Cosponsored by Chairman Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Rep. Vern Ehlers (R-Mich.), Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.) and Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the bipartisan H.R. 5019 was supported by Republican Reps. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) and Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) when it passed the Energy and Commerce Committee last month. The bill has been endorsed by the following organizations:
Home Star is a two-year program designed to spur home energy retrofits by providing direct incentives to homeowners to install American-made energy-saving products and conduct whole-home retrofits. Home Star includes two types of consumer incentives:
Introduced in the House in April, H.R. 5019 passed the Energy and Commerce Committee by a vote of 30 to 17 later that month. Home Star is based on Welch's Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Performance (REEP) program, which passed the House last summer as part of the Waxman/Markey energy bill. |