The Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works (EPW) approved climate change legislation (S. 1733) that does not include the real estate energy labeling opposed by NAR. Eleven of 12 Democrats — a majority of the panel's 19 members — voted to advance the bill without amendment and with no Republicans present. Republicans had requested full EPA economic impact analysis of the bill before participating in a markup.

The EPW vote represents another in a long series of steps that are required before the full Senate may take up omnibus energy legislation. Several other committees have or are expected to produce bills which Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) will then combine into one meausre and submit to EPA for several weeks of analysis. In addition, Sens. John Kerry (D-MA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) have outlined a set of principles and are working with other senators to develop a bipartisan compromise that moves legislation forward. NAR will continue to monitor Senate energy legislation and work to maintain the real estate exclusions in the House bill (H.R. 2454) from energy labeling or other programs that would directly impact the real estate sector.

Meanwhile, Vice President Joe Biden recently announced a new "Recovery Through Retrofit" initiative that includes creation of "energy performance labels" and "national energy performance measures" for existing homes, despite the fact that the House Energy Bill (H.R. 2454) exempted those homes as well existing multi-family and commercial buildings from energy labeling under the bill. NAR President Charles McMillan wrote the White House and the heads of all Federal departments involved in the labeling initiative, requesting an immediate meeting to share our strong concerns about the stigmatizing effects of these labels on real estate at one of the most critical moments in the nation's economic recovery. President McMillan's letter is linked.

Read President McMillan's Letter