The Green Act of 2009

by Joel Barkman, NVBIA Fauquier County Chapter President

While the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association's (NVBIA) Fauquier Chapter is busy working toward Green incentives in our own backyard, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is working on Capital Hill.

In testimony before Congress this June, NAHB praised H.R. 2336, the GREEN Act of 2009, which sets new green building and sustainability benchmarks for properties that get financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

But NAHB President Jerry Howard also warned members of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity that H.R. 2454, the other major piece of climate change legislation now being considered in the Congress, includes requirements that conflict with H.R. 2336 - making the GREEN Act obsolete before it's even signed.

"I am hopeful that this subcommittee will be able to restore the balance necessary to truly incentivize green building and preserve affordability as the debate over climate change continues," Howard said. "It would be terribly disappointing to see the good faith efforts and collaborative work on the GREEN Act displaced with unworkable federal mandates as envisioned in H.R. 2454."

Howard told lawmakers that the association's members agree with the bill's approach, which would ensure cost-effective energy-efficiency improvements to HUD-financed homes.

In accompanying written testimony, Howard detailed the strides that NAHB members have made toward the creation of more sustainable housing stock and the education, certification and training programs the association has launched to further that growth.

Like the Certified Green Professional (CGP) designation Offered by NAHB's University of Housing. It is another way building professionals can become educated in, and involved with green building. The designation requires 24 hours of NAHB-approved training, and additional continuing education every two years. Subjects covered in training discuss how green homes provide buyers with lower energy costs and higher value, and will include strategies for incorporating green-building principles into homes without driving up the cost of construction.

Education is at the very core of the National Association of Home Builders' mission. Building industry professionals recognize NAHB as a premier repository of housing knowledge and regularly turn to the association for their continuing education needs. "We have a major role to play in the manner in which energy efficiency and sustainable technologies are introduced into the housing stock," Howard said. "Despite the downturn, NAHB has not wavered in its commitment to promoting green building and energy efficiency in a manner that is affordable and effective and that legitimately improves energy efficiency for the next generation of housing."

Howard asked Congress to rework some sections of the GREEN Act's text. It is unclear in the current draft, he said, whether new efficiency requirements apply to Federal Housing Authority-financed home purchases as well as to direct subsidy programs or competitive grants.

"The scope of the GREEN Act and the new programs that it creates is ambitious, but the intent is thoughtful and NAHB hopes that the resources will ultimately be available to develop the programs into effective tools to promote sustainable principles," he said.

To read legislation, visit: http://thomas.loc.gov/ and enter the bill number in the box at the center of the page, and if Congress still has you confused, "Just Ask a Builder."

For more information about the GREEN Act or other building legislation e-mail joel@goldenrulebuilders.com or write to "Ask a Builder" at P.O. box 294, Catlett, VA 20119.

Barkman is president of the Fauquier Chapter of The Northern Virginia Building Industry Association.

Read Joel's column weekly in the