Homes Act

Floor Speech

Mr. WELCH. Mr. Speaker, energy efficiency investments work. A recent study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that improving the airtightness in homes would achieve $33 billion in annual energy savings.

Across the country, 113 million homes use 23 percent of U.S. source energy, and the largest potential is in the hottest and the coldest climates.

In Vermont, we are leading the country on energy efficiency, demonstrating the potential these home improvements can have for saving money and protecting the environment.

I have introduced bipartisan legislation with my good friend and Republican colleague, Representative McKinley, that would provide homeowners with an incentive to install precisely these kinds of efficiency measures in their own homes.

Whatever your preferred source of energy, we can all agree that using less energy is good for the taxpayer and the environment. This is something we can and should work together on accomplishing.

I encourage everyone to read Lawrence Berkeley's article in the science digest Energy and Buildings. It can be found at www.elsevier.com/locate/enbuild.

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