Efficiency First

Blogging for The Huffington Post, Laura A. Hutchings of Colorado-based Populus Sustainable Design Consulting (www.popboulder.com) has posted a statement from Efficiency First Chairman Greg Thomas and Policy Chair Matt Golden regarding the inclusion of HOME STAR in the Small Business Jobs Bill now under consideration in the Senate. The statement reads in part:

This bipartisan legislation, which passed the House of Representatives in May and now resides in the Senate, has the potential to create an estimated 168,000 new jobs in construction and related industries over the next two years. Much of the hiring would be done by small business owners in all 50 states who are already engaged in saving American homeowners money on their energy bills. The program has strong support from a broad spectrum of business leaders, trade associations, environmental groups and nonprofit organizations, ranging from local contractors and HVAC services to the Sierra Club and the United States Chamber of Commerce.

America’s Home Performance industry is poised to take on the task of retrofitting America’s existing housing stock with cost-effective energy efficiency upgrades, but now that word has gotten out about Home Star, we’ve seen a 15-20 percent drop in business over the past two months as consumers wait for the Home Star incentives to become available. The sooner we get this law enacted, the sooner we’ll be able to get hardworking Americans off the unemployment rolls and back in productive jobs that are good for the nation and the environment.

To ensure rapid near-term job creation in the construction industry, we call on Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to bring Home Star to the Senate floor this week as part of the Small Business Jobs bill.

As co-chair of the Colorado Chapter of Efficiency First, Hutchings has been an active proponent for HOME STAR and other policy initiatives that will have a strong positive impact on the Home Performance industry. Read her full blog post at www.huffingtonpost.com/laura-a-hutchings/revive-americas-construct_b_653430.html.