The Building Performance Institute applauds the energy efficiency provisions included in the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, which are expected to have significant impact on the energy efficiency performance requirements of new and existing homes and buildings. However, the National Association of Home Builders is not as impressed with the legislation.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Act by a vote of 219-212 June 26. Also referred to as the 'Waxman-Markey Bill,' this landmark energy and environment act is intended to provide incentives for reducing energy consumption, establish limits on U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and create a trading system for GHG emission permits.

"We know that residential buildings are responsible for over 20 percent of America's carbon footprint, thanks to their consumption of fossil fuel energy," says Larry Zarker, CEO of BPI. "If we can improve the efficiency of the 128 million existing American homes, we can reduce our GHG emissions, create jobs and save homeowners a lot of money while also improving the durability and occupant comfort, health and safety of those homes."

The NAHB believes American home buyers deserve a more equitable solution than the American Clean Energy and Security Act as Congress moves to cut our nation's energy use, says the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

"The hard truth is that we can't build our way out of this problem," said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson, a builder and developer in Tulsa, Okla. "We need to make sure our utilities more efficiently generate and transmit power. We need to make our existing housing stock more energy efficient. We need to reduce our 'plug load' - home appliances, televisions and computers - and make these products more energy efficient. This bill's focus on new home construction won't get us very far at all."