HOME STAR Program: Putting Americans Back to Work

One of the hardest hit sectors in this latest economic tailspin has been the construction industry. Millions of contractors, electricians, manufacturers, carpenters, plumbers - you name it - are sitting idle, unable to find work, and unable to pay their bills. According to the Home Performance Resource Center while the national unemployment rate hovers near 10%, the construction industry rate is closer to 25%. The jobs just aren't there anymore.

So, we must create the jobs. And what better way to utilize the skills of all these unemployed construction workers than to put them to work retrofitting, weatherizing and making millions of residential buildings more energy efficient. Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) are going to introduce a bill, "establishing a HOME STAR program of consumer rebates for home energy efficiency retrofits." Now that's good government.

Once the bill is introduced, call your Senators and ask them to support the HOME STAR bill so we can save homeowners money, reduce our carbon footprint, and put folks back to work.