Alliance Urges Congress to Support Home Star Energy Retrofit Act

In the run up to the House vote on the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010 (H.R. 5019), Alliance President Kateri Callahan urged Members of Congress to support the bill. The following letter went to all 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives:

May 5, 2010

Dear Representative,

I write to urge your support for H.R. 5019, the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010. Passage of this bill will be welcome news to cash-strapped American homeowners, workers of all stripes, and businesses working to make our country the most energy-efficient country in the world. I have heard their voices and ask you to support them too.

As the President of the Alliance to Save Energy, I work with business leaders around the country to make our economy stronger through energy efficiency. Today, more than 170 corporations, trade associations, public interest groups, and research organizations join the Alliance to surmount barriers to smart energy use through education, policies, and programs. The Alliance strongly supports H.R. 5019 as smart policy with a meaningful long-term impact on energy savings and job creation.

Home Star would help Americans invest in their homes in ways that matter. The average American household spends $2,100 each year on home energy and could save 25 percent through energy efficiency. Still, few can pay the full price today for the efficiency upgrades necessary to capture the savings. By giving Americans a head start to invest in their homes, Home Star will more than pay for itself, injecting $10 billion in avoided energy costs back into our economy over the next 10 years.

Home Star will jump-start a new American home performance industry. The program will put 168,000 Americans back to work in the next two years and will set the course for America to compete in the emerging industry of energy efficiency. My organization works around the world to promote energy efficiency and, in recent years, we have seen foreign businesses pick up speed as their countries have taken the lead in developing clean energy manufacturing and in promoting smart energy use. Home Star will bring efficiency jobs and manufacturing back to our shores and drive innovation and development in energy efficiency for years to come.

I urge you to set aside partisan politics and vote for this important short and long-term economic recovery and jobs legislation.

Sincerely,

Kateri Callahan

President, Alliance to Save Energy