Efficiency First

HOME STAR legislation still in the works as Senators unveil the first in a series of bipartisan job-creation bills

Today the senior Democratic and Republican members of the Senate Finance Committee (Max Baucus of Montana and Charles Grassley of Iowa) unveiled the first in a series of job-creation bills currently under development on Capitol Hill. Congressional leaders have indicated that three to five more job bills will be released after the Presidents’ Day recess, including legislation authorizing the proposed HOME STAR retrofit incentive program.

Efficiency First continues to be actively engaged in the legislative process, and is working closely with members of the House and Senate to assure inclusion of the HOME STAR language in subsequent legislation.

In a joint statement issued along with the draft bill released today, Senators Grassley and Baucus called for legislators on both sides of the aisle to move forward in spirit of cooperation. “We want the bipartisan character of the discussions that led to this draft package to remain as the package is considered,” the statement said.

The proposed legislation creates or extends a number of tax breaks designed to encourage hiring of unemployed workers and retention of existing employees. The bill also allocates funds for various labor-intensive infrastructure projects, provides relief for private pensions, and extends the Patriot Act for one year.

Read a MarketWatch summary of the proposed legislation here:
www.marketwatch.com/story/bill-would-give-companies-payroll-tax-break-2010-02-11

Download the bipartisan Finance Committee memorandum here:
www.finance.senate.gov/press/Bpress/2010press/prb021110a.pdf

Download the Democratic Jobs Agenda here:
www.abcnews.go.com/images/Politics/Dem_Jobs_Agenda2.pdf

Please take a moment to make your voice heard in Congress and register your support for the HOME STAR legislation. Using the online tools at www.efficiencyfirst.org/home-star, it only takes a few minutes to sign up for the HOME STAR Coalition, e-mail your House and Senate legislators, and look up phone numbers for calling the two Senators from your state.