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1. ACI Conference - The National SAVE Energy Coalition will have an expo booth at the ACI Conference in Austin, Texas on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. If you are at the conference, please stop by and introduce yourself. We love to meet our members, hear your feedback about what we can do better, and we’re happy to answer any questions you may have about our organization, the upcoming climate bill, or Home Star.
2. Home Star Making Gains - Home Star is now an official bill in the House of Representatives, HR 5019. It was introduced last Wednesday by Congressman Welch and then voted on by the House Energy & Commerce committee. The bill passed out of committee on a 30-17 vote, with Republicans Whitfield (KY) and Murphy (PA) voting in favor. Soon after the committee passed the bill, President Obama issued a statement applauding their efforts and urging the fast passage of the bill. In the Senate, the Home Star bill (S 3177) has been referred to the Finance Committee. Both the full House and Senate still need to consider their respective Home Star bills.
3. 4/15 Climate Webinar – In case you missed it, our climate Webinar Preparing for a Federal Climate Bill: Opportunities & Challenges is now available on our homepage here. You can also download the PPT slides. Also, thanks to everyone that called and emailed their Senators in the days following the webinar. Your input makes a difference, and we’ll hopefully see that reflected in the contents of the bill when it is released next week.
4. Obama Wants Climate Bill Next in Line: In advance of the release of the Kerry, Graham, Lieberman climate bill next Monday, April 26th, President Obama has made it clear that climate and energy legislation is a major priority. In a meeting with outside experts on economic recovery plans last Friday, the President stated that he expects the Senate to take up comprehensive climate and energy legislation as soon as financial reform has passed. He went on to say that “this is one of these foundational priorities from my perspective that has to be done soon.” The President acknowledged the tough fight that looms to pass such a bill, but made it clear that the fight is necessary. Says Obama, “I fear that if we don’t take these steps soon, we’re going to have some big, big problems.”
Resources for Action – Our Take Action page has been updated with separate pages for Home Star and Climate & Energy. For both issues, we have state-specific documents to help you get in touch with your Senators. These include pre-written emails, faxes, and phone call talking points. We also have recordings of our climate and energy and Home Star webinars on our Resources page.
