Yesterday I wrote a diary asking for help in pushing for two programs which would decrease our dependence on foreign sources of energy, cut our energy costs and usage and help in our fight against Climate Change. With the news coming out that Geithner is getting ready to unveil the administration's next steps in the bank bailout, the window of opportunity to take advantage of the suggestion of one of those programs to tie GSE-backed mortgage rates to refinanced bank loans in exchange for energy efficient retrofitting seemed yesterday to be closing.
But while we still have an uphill battle ahead, President Obama sent a strong signal tonight that he supports our efforts, and that we should start fighting harder. Environmentalists are pleased with the first steps offered in the stimulus bill, but they also call for much more to be done. And I hope that I can convince my fellow Kossacks to fight with me in order to support the programs which will transform this country's energy policy; programs that I'll outline below.
So far there have been two energy efficiency-based programs that have I have seen proposed which look promising- The Architecture 2030 Stimulus Plan and Energy Future Coalition's Rebuilding America plan. While they differ in cost and scope, they both echo President Obama's call today for energy efficient retrofitting in American homes and businesses.
I'll go over a couple of quick points about each.
Architecture 2030 has called for over $96 billion in spending each year over 2 years, but offers a plan to pay that money back. And this program would attract participation by property owners through accelerated commercial tax depreciation and attractive rates for homeowners through government-backed mortgage securities like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Their plan predicts over 9 million jobs being created and sets up a system that can be continued through private companies after 2 years.
The Rebuilding America plan from Energy Future Coalition presents a much lower price tag for their program, and from what I gathered from my conversation with one of their staffers, they had been involved in pushing legislation contained in the House stimulus bill that provides for energy efficiency retrofitting. While A2030 provides funding through GSE's, under the Rebuilding America plan, the Dept of Energy would work with state agencies to provide rebates for energy efficiency retrofitting projects.
Obviously the details of these bills matter. And it will take someone with a better understanding of energy and political matters than myself to thoroughly weigh the pros and cons of each proposal, as well as introduce other energy plans which are surely out there. A. Siegel introduced Architecture 203 to me, and there are many more Kossacks out there like him who I would love to hear more from on this issue.
But tonight, I want to reiterate the importance of what President Obama said early on in his press conference and ask the rest of the community to help me get behind his efforts. As we struggle to recover from our current recession, investing in energy efficiency programs are one of the keys to putting people back to work immediately and putting money back into the taxpayers pockets. And we need to keep pushing for these programs.
