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House Passes Major Home Energy Bill

The bill, H.R. 6, the “Energy Act of 2003,” has received solid backing from the nation’s home builders because, according to NAHB Executive Vice President Jerry Howard, “it would spur builders to invest in market- and technology-driven initiatives that would promote higher levels of energy efficiency at more reasonable costs.”

Among provisions in the bill, which was introduced by Rep. Jerry Weller (R-IL):

• Builders would receive a tax credit of $2,000 for each home they build that is 30% more energy efficient than a home meeting the International Energy Conservation Code.
• Consumers would receive a tax credit of up to $2,000 on the cost of qualified remodeling projects that improve energy efficiency.

When House and Senate bills are considered in a conference committee, NAHB will be lobbying on behalf of restoring a tax credit of $2.25 per square foot for multifamily buildings that are 50% more efficient than properties built to standards of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

The credit was dropped before final House passage of the bill.

The Senate energy tax package — which includes home energy efficiency tax credits at levels slightly lower than those in the House bill — is making its way through committee and is not expected to be ready for a vote on the full Senate floor until later this spring.

To read the full House bill, click here, and enter H.R. 6 in the box in the upper left hand corner.

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