Fri, Nov 20 2009
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Published November 07, 2009 12:35 am - As the U.S. Senate works on its version of an energy bill, blogs, conservative talk-show hosts and e-mails are painting a horrific picture of the U.S. House bill. Cap and trade won’t require retrofitting to sell By CARL E. FEATHER - Staff Writer - cfeather@starbeacon.com Star Beacon As the U.S. Senate works on its version of an energy bill, blogs, conservative talk-show hosts and e-mails are painting a horrific picture of the U.S. House bill.
Specifically, they are claiming that the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2454), also known as cap and trade, will place onerous burdens on homeowners who will be required to retrofit, or bring a home up to an energy-efficiency standard, before they can sell it. They also claim the federal government will require all homeowners pay for a “label” or energy license once the home has been audited. Not so, says the independent FactCheck.org and the National Association of Realtors (NAR), which provided extensive input into the bill. Even so, Rep. Stephen LaTourette, R-Bainbridge, did not support the bill. The congressman points out that the bill is huge, more than 1,400 pages, and covers everything from coal-fired generating plants to consumer Christmas lights. It has tremendous potential for raising the cost of energy for all Americans, especially in states where much of the power is generated by burning fossil fuels. Accordingly, LaTourette voted against the bill, which barely passed the House: 219-212. “I did not support the measure because it tries to do too much, rewards special interests, was hastily crafted with little bipartisan input and will be devastating to our state,” says LaTourette in a statement. LaTourette points out that local electricity bills are already the highest in the state and would increase more with cap and trade. Indiana and Ohio are expected to suffer the most of any states if the bill becomes law. He said energy costs could rise by 86 percent in Ohio if cap and trade is enacted, a tremendous blow remaining manufacturing industries. “I’m also very concerned that an energy bill intended to help ‘green’ the country could actually lead to higher gas prices, as oil refineries will almost undoubtedly cease operations if this bill becomes law, leading to even more dependence on foreign oil,” stated the congressman. On the issue of retrofitting residential and commercial properties to meet new government energy-efficiency standards, the language in the bill simply does not support the allegations, according to an information sheet provided by NAR’s Government Affairs Division. As passed, the bill does not create a federal energy audit requirement for real-estate property. Furthermore, it exempts existing homes and buildings from any federal guidelines for new-construction energy labeling. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will be prohibited from regulating carbon emissions from residential and commercial buildings under the Clean Air Act. The bill would create a national building code with a goal of improving energy efficiency for new construction. States would have a year to bring their codes in compliance with the federal code. Further, states would have the option of voluntarily participating in a federal grant program (Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Performance — REEP) that homeowners could access for assistance with energy-efficiency improvements to their homes. The provision comes with stringent certification requirements for the contractors, practices and materials to ensure verifiable savings in energy. The program is entirely voluntary. Deborah Setliff, liaison for LaTourette’s office, said there was some language in the original version of the bill that could have been, and evidently was, construed as mandating certain provisions. NAR worked with lawmakers to make sure energy labels and federal audit requirements for real estate are not part of the final bill. “It’s a huge bill,” Setliff said. “There was some concern that language (in the original) could make people do this, but they tweaked the language.” Setliff pointed out that the Senate still needs to produce and vote on its version of a bill, and the two bodies would have to reconcile the versions before it becomes law. LaTourette suggested that constituents with a concern about the energy bill contact senators Sherrod Brown and George Voinovich. The entire bill can be found online (http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h2454pcs.txt.pdf). Brew a huge pot of strong coffee before attempting to read it. 
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