In response to the REMODELING article, "NAHB Opposes Major House Energy Bill,"  NAHB chairman, Joe Robson, writes:

Dear Sir:  
Your story (NAHB Opposes Major House Energy Bill) mischaracterizes this association’s stance on H.R. 2454.  The National Association of Home Builders has long been a supporter of energy efficiency in all residential construction as witnessed by our leadership in the development of the ANSI-approved National Green Building Standard and NAHBGreen, the National Green Building Program.
 
In fact, NAHB endorses efforts to increase the energy efficiency in the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code by 30 percent over the 2006 edition.  Even higher targets are supported if technologically achievable and economically justified.
 
NAHB opposes H.R. 2454 because it simply tries to go too far, too fast.  The bill undermines national code development processes and state and local enforcement mechanisms that have served this nation well, providing significant increases in energy efficiency in homes built after 1990.
 
Instead, this House bill would have the Department of Energy create a federal energy efficiency code, mandate this code on the states and impose civil penalties on builders and owners who build to a nonconforming local code.  A much more reasoned approach is the American Clean Energy Leadership Act being considered by the U.S. Senate.
 
Our remodeler members are concentrating their efforts on the improving the efficiency of existing housing, where the vast majority of energy is consumed and where significant strides are much more achievable – not pushing for unrealistic targets for new homes.  Such costly mandates would likely only weaken our fragile economy by further depressing sales during the worst housing depression in decades.
 
Sincerely,
 
Joe Robson
Chairman, National Association of Home Builders
 
 
ABOUT NAHB: The National Association of Home Builders is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing more than 200,000 members involved in home building, remodeling, multifamily construction, property management, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction. Known as "the voice of the housing industry," NAHB is affiliated with more than 800 state and local home builders associations around the country. NAHB’s builder members will construct about 80 percent of the new housing units projected for 2009.