[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 177 (Friday, November 18, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7834-S7835]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Mr. Bingaman, and Mrs. Feinstein):
  S. 1914. A bill to amend the Internal ``Revenue Code of 1986 to 
provide a credit for performance based home energy improvements, and 
for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise to speak about bipartisan 
legislation I am introducing today, the Cut Energy Bills at Home Act, 
which would provide a 30 percent tax credit for Americans to cut their 
energy bills, and catalyze our construction industry, reduce pollution, 
and seize the opportunity in residential energy efficiency to secure 
America's energy future. With heating oil prices at $3.94 nationally 
for home heating oil, a record for this time of year, this legislation 
is a timely method to address what may be the most expensive heating 
season in history.
  I am pleased to have developed this bill with Senators Bingaman and 
Feinstein, two longtime leaders on energy efficiency, and look forward 
to discussing this bill with my colleagues on the Senate Finance 
Committee. The Cut Energy Bills at Home Act recognizes the sea-change 
that has occurred in the energy efficiency industry and tries to ensure 
that middle-class Americans can harness these technological strides in 
their own lives.
  Specifically, not only have windows, insulation, and boilers become 
more advanced to reduce energy consumption, but our contractors who 
perform this work have developed sophisticated practices to 
holistically improve a home's energy consumption.
  In the past, homeowners would simply place insulation in the attic to 
contain heat, now companies are using infared thermography to identify 
temperature differences in a house, a blower door test to measure 
airflow leaks, to replace windows, doors, and insulation that will 
maximize the cost-effectiveness of home energy efficiency improvements.
  Today, we are on the cusp of a milestone turn in the energy 
efficiency industry--one with benefits for homeowners unimaginable even 
just five years ago. To spur early adoption of these advances and to 
ensure that cost is not prohibitive, our bill provides a 30 percent tax 
credit up to $5,000 to assist homeowners who make an investment that 
will reduce energy costs for not only this winter, but for future years 
to come.
  For example, under this bill if a homeowner invests in energy 
efficiency that will reduce heating oil consumption from 1,000 gallons 
of home heating oil to 800 gallons, a 20 percent improvement, the 
individual may claim 30 percent of the cost of the improvements as a 
tax credit up to $2,000.
  In 2009, New England consumed 3.4 billion gallons of home heating 
oil, which is approximately $13 billion that households spent simply to 
keep warm. A 20 percent reduction in this figure would yield a savings 
of $2.6 billion for households in New England. Energy efficiency can 
provide a critical tool to reduce this amount and allow households to 
invest in food, medicine, and the American economy. I urge my 
colleagues to support me in passing this legislation into law.

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