NLBMDA News

Contact Your Senators Today About the Homebuyers Tax Credit
The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday, October 20 to hear the latest on the housing market from Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan and industry representatives. Home buyer tax credit champion Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) will also address the committee to press for an extension and expansion of that credit before it expires at the end of November. One option that remains on the table is for the credit to be attached to an extension of unemployment benefits the Senate may vote on this week. Dealers are encouraged to keep calls and letters coming to their Senators to press them to act sooner rather than later to preserve the credit. Visit www.BuildtheVote.org to take action today. Read more here.

NLBMDA Submits Comments to U.S. Green Building Council on Second Draft of Certified Wood Credit Benchmarks
On Oct. 14, NLBMDA submitted comments to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) on its second draft of proposed revisions of the benchmarks for the certified wood credit in the LEED rating tool. Currently, wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is the only wood eligible for credit toward LEED certification. USGBC has proposed a new system of "benchmarks" that any certification scheme could be evaluated against to determine if their certification procedures would be acceptable to USGBC. Read more.

Health Care Negotiations Continue
Negotiations continue this week between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Health Committee member Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) to reconcile the competing health bills passed out of those two committees. Reid has stated plans to bring a final reform bill to the Senate floor next week. Read more.

OSHA Announces Emphasis Program on Recordkeeping
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced it is initiating a national emphasis program (NEP) on recordkeeping to assess the accuracy of injury and illness data recorded by employers. Read more.

Climate Change/Energy Hearings Set in the Senate
While most of the health care negotiations are now taking place behind-the-scenes, several Senate committees are gearing up for hearings and mark ups of climate change/energy legislation. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee holds a hearing this Wednesday, October 21, on the costs and benefits of greenhouse gas emissions allowances. The Boxer-Kerry bill (S.1733) is expected to be marked up in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee following three days of hearings set to begin next Tuesday, October 27.

Legislation Introduced to Tie Tax Credit for Windows, Doors and Skylights to Energy Star
On October 15, Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced legislation that would modify the existing tax credit for energy efficient windows, doors and skylights for 2010 by tying it to established ENERGY STAR® standards for fenestration products. The current $1,500 tax credit, passed as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), limited the tax credit to windows, doors and skylights "equal to or below a U-factor of 0.30 and SGHC (solar heat gain) of 0.30," commonly known as the ".30/.30 standard." Read more.

FLAME Act Passes Senate
As part of the 2010 Interior and Environment Appropriations Act, the Senate passed legislation Sept. 28 to create a dedicated fund within the Forest Service to pay for fire suppression activities and prevent forest management funds from being raided during high fire activity years. Between 1999 and 2003, $2.2 billion of the $3.5 billion spent on forest fire fighting was diverted from other programs. The dedicated fund will help ensure other important forest management programs are not disrupted by budget shortfalls. The legislation now goes to conference with the House.

Have You Subscribed to the NLBMDA Green Update?
NLBMDA recently announced that it has partnered with MultiBriefs to create the new NLBMDA Green Update, a free, opt-in e-mail resource providing comprehensive biweekly news briefings of interesting stories important to the building material industry. Read more.