American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Overview

It’s been all over the news that Congress and the White House have reached a deal on a $789.5 billion stimulus bill. Unfortunately, the $15,000 home buyer tax credit that we had been fighting so hard for was removed from the legislation in its final stages. Economists predict the bill to be voted on and passed within the coming days. While the $15,000 home buyer tax credit has been removed, there is a lot of legislation in the bill, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, that will affect the home building industry. Specifically, the legislation will try to improve the environment and create new jobs by enforcing green building regulations.

Smart Grid/Advanced Battery Technology/Energy Efficiency

• Provides a total of $30 billion for such initiatives as a new, smart power grid, advanced battery technology, and energy efficiency measures, which will create nearly 500,000 jobs.
• Transforms the nation’s electricity systems through the Smart Grid Investment Program to modernize the electricity grid to make it more efficient and reliable.
• Supports U.S. development of advanced vehicle batteries and battery systems through loans and grants so that America can lead the world in transforming the way automobiles are powered.
• Helps state and local governments make investments in innovative best practices to achieve greater energy efficiency and reduce energy usage.
• Spurs energy efficiency and renewable energy R&D.

Tax Incentives to Spur Energy Savings and Green Jobs

• Provides $20 billion in tax incentives for renewable energy and energy efficiency over the next 10 years.
• Includes a three-year extension of the production tax credit (PTC) for electricity derived from wind (through 2012) and for electricity derived from biomass, geothermal, hydropower, landfill gas, waste-to-energy, and marine facilities (through 2013).
• Provides grants of up to 30 percent of the cost of building a new renewable energy facility to address
  current renewable energy credit market concerns.
• Promotes energy-efficient investments in homes by extending and expanding tax credits through 2010
  for purchases such as new furnaces, energy-efficient windows and doors, or insulation.
• Provides a tax credit for families that purchase plug-in hybrid vehicles of up to $7,500 to spur the next
  generation of American cars.
• Includes clean renewable energy bonds for State and local governments.
• Establishes a new manufacturing investment tax credit for investment in advanced energy facilities, such as facilities that manufacture components for the production of renewable energy, advanced battery technology, and other innovative next-generation green technologies.

Landmark Energy Savings at Home

• Provides $5 billion for landmark provisions to improve the energy efficiency of more than 1 million
  modest-income homes through weatherization.
• This will save modest-income families on average $350 per year on their heating and air conditioning
  bills.

Repairing Public Housing and Making Key Energy Efficiency Retrofits to HUD-Assisted Housing

• Provides a total of $6.3 billion for increasing energy efficiency in federally-supported housing programs.
• Specifically, establishes a new program to upgrade HUD-sponsored low-income housing (elderly, disabled, and Section to increase energy efficiency, including new insulation, windows, and frames.
• Also invests in energy efficiency upgrades in public housing, including new windows, furnaces, and insulation to improve living conditions for residents and lower the cost of operating these facilities.

Do you think these regulations will have as a big of an impact on the economy as the home buyer tax credit would have?

We received this information off of a fact sheet from Nancy Pelosi.