[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 18194]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      CUT ENERGY BILLS AT HOME ACT

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of the Cut 
Energy Bills at Home Act, which Senator Snowe, Senator Bingaman and I 
have introduced. It has been a pleasure to work again with Senators 
Snowe and Bingaman on an important piece of energy legislation. We have 
written this bill in a fully cooperative process, and my colleagues 
have been especially accommodating of changes requested by California's 
experts; I thank my colleagues for their efforts.
  This legislation would put the construction industry back to work by 
creating a homeowner tax credit for home renovations that increase the 
energy efficiency of the home by at least 20 percent. The tax credit 
would increase in size with every 5 percent in additional energy 
efficiency improvement achieved. Homeowners who improved the efficiency 
of their home by more than 50 percent will qualify for a maximum credit 
of $5,000.
  This legislation helps address the continued high unemployment in the 
construction sector while making a long-term investment in America's 
building infrastructure. The construction industry has the highest 
unemployment rate of any sector nationally, according to the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics.
  The current residential building stock exceeds demand, making a rapid 
recovery in new housing starts unlikely. According to the Census 
Bureau, 14.3 percent of the housing units in the United States in the 
second quarter of 2011 were vacant, even as prices continue to drop.
  Thus the construction industry needs jobs, but artificially 
stimulating construction of new homes would exacerbate a situation of 
oversupply and depress home prices further.
  Our Nation's buildings also need the upgrade. Buildings account for 
about 40 percent of the U.S. energy appetite, as well as 40 percent of 
its carbon dioxide emissions, according to the Department of Energy. 
However, the consulting firm McKinsey and Company has found that 
improving building energy efficiency is one of the most cost effective 
ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
  Since 1974, California has used mandates, regulations and incentives 
to hold its per capita energy consumption essentially constant, while 
energy use per-person for the United States overall has jumped 50 
percent.
  This legislation provides a solution by stimulating the renovation of 
existing homes.
  This is a jobs bill that provides incentives to reward energy 
efficient renovations that will create jobs in the construction sector, 
avoid increasing the supply of housing beyond demand, decrease energy 
use and reduce pollution, and expand the market for efficient 
technology and products.
  This bill would create the first tax incentive for energy efficiency 
home renovation based on the energy performance of the home rather than 
the cost of the equipment.
  This concept, which Senator Snowe and I first proposed in 2007 as 
part of the Extend Act, is recommended by most energy efficiency 
experts.
  Current policy allow homeowners to claim credits for the purchase of 
energy efficient insulation, windows, doors, heaters, air conditioners 
and water heaters. This approach is very expensive, largely due to 
claims filed for windows.
  By restructuring the credit to apply to whole-home energy renovations 
that reward energy efficiency performance instead of the cost of 
equipment, this proposal has the potential to increase effectiveness 
while substantially lowering costs.
  The legislation also includes provisions to ensure effectiveness and 
prevent abuse. The work must be done by a contractor who must sign an 
affidavit certifying the work was done and submit photographs of the 
work. The contractor must use certified, computer-based energy 
efficiency measurement tools. The credit would be limited to 
renovations of primary residences that do not increase the size of the 
home, and the credit would be capped at no more than 30 percent of the 
cost of renovation, to prevent homeowners from making large claims for 
relatively inexpensive renovations. As a tax credit, all claims would 
also be subject to IRS audits.
  The bill is supported by the California Energy Commission, the 
Alliance to Save Energy, Efficiency First, the American Council for an 
Energy Efficient Economy and the Natural Resource Defense Council.
  By offering incentives for energy efficient renovations, this bill 
helps create jobs in California's ailing construction sector while at 
the same time decreasing energy use and pollution.
  This sort of investment, putting Americans back to work while leaving 
behind lasting improvements, is the type of legislation on which 
Congress should be spending time.

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