Why do we love HOME STAR, aka Cash for Caulkers?  Because it’s good for America.

And we’re not the only ones – all across the country, companies large and small are voicing their support for the HOME STAR program that was recently proposed to President Obama by venture capitalist John Doerr.  And now that it was covered by the New York Times last night, we’re hoping that the Obama administration will see the program as we see it: enabling a long-term industry with hundreds of thousands (and potentially millions) of new, sustainable jobs that cannot be outsourced, that helps the U.S. achieve our energy and climate goals.

Why does HOME STAR matter?

• Jobless recovery and unemployment stats are daunting; nationwide unemployment is at 10.2%, with the construction industry being one of the hardest hit at 17%.
• The program has the potential to be as successful out of the gate as Cash for Clunkers. However, it is much more than a way to get old homes retrofitted — it’s the ticket to creating new jobs to offset job losses.
• It dovetails nicely and contains the same highly vetted language found in the Waxmen-Marky Bill and Kerry-Boxer Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Performance (REEP), Recovery Through Retrofit and ARRA investments for worker retraining.
• Through HOME STAR, $23 billion would go to support 5.9 million home energy retrofits and create more than 500,000 and up to over 1 million new jobs.

This is the piece of the puzzle that we’ve been waiting for. It’s a win-win for helping American families.