Home Builders Association of Greater Cincinnati president Andrea Lucke wants Congress to extend the New Energy Efficient Home Credit, which expires at the end of the year.
Testifying last week before a House Small Business Committee meeting on how emerging green technologies can help stabilize and grow the U.S. economy, Lucke argued that the best strategy is for Congress to provide tax incentives instead of enacting energy efficiency mandates.
While the hearing focused mainly on energy production and conservation, Lucke, on behalf of
National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), spoke about how the homebuilding industry is working to protect our planet as the price of energy continues to skyrocket.
"By encouraging growth in green building, our nation’s home builders have the potential to profoundly affect energy efficiency and conserve precious natural resources and our environment," Lucke told the committee, noting that more than half of the NAHB's members are incorporating green practices into their new projects.
The tax credit, which was established in 2005, gives home builders a $2,000 credit for a new energy-efficient home that achieves 50 percent energy savings for heating and cooling over the 2004 International Energy Conservation Code and supplements.
"The credit allows home buyers to benefit from the advantages that green building provides, while builders to continue to build homes at affordable prices," Lucke says. "Legislators could also increase the amount of the tax credit to pay for a larger percentage of the building costs that are incurred when making a home 50 percent more energy-efficient, because the costs associated with building an energy-efficient home are higher."
Writer:
Kevin LeMasterSource: Andrea Lucke, president, Home Builders Association of Greater Cincinnati
Photo of Congressman Steve Chabot and Andrea Lucke provided by HBAGC
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