Last night, the Senate cleared a major hurdle towards passing a $15 billion jobs bill. This seems to be just the first of several jobs bills that the Senate will consider in the coming weeks and months. Among these bills we're keeping a close eye on the "Home Star" program. We strongly urge senators to press for resilience measures in the Home Star program, as they could create construction jobs and bolster flood mitigation in Louisiana and other coastal states.
Home Star, formerly known as "Cash for Caulkers", will soon be introduced on the Senate floor by Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA). The program aims to kill two birds with one stone. First, it will put construction workers, who are really bearing the brunt of job losses in this great recession, back to work installing energy retrofits. Second, it will boost energy efficiency in homes, which will lower household utility bills and curb greenhouse gas emissions.
At Restoration and Resilience, we think this a great start, but think that a huge opportunity is being missed: Home resilience.
Coastal and Navigable River Counties in the United States (Source: Columbia University)
Louisiana gets more than sixty inches of rain a year, is vulnerable to hurricanes and storm surge, and loses a football field of its coastal wetlands every half-hour. Green retrofits and home weatherization funds from a jobs bill should take on a whole new meaning in a place so shaped by water. With more than 150 million Americans living in coastal and river valley counties subject to periodic storm and flood disasters, we think that inclusion of flood mitigation measures would be a smart investment in safety and attract broad support across the country.
We're working with the SmarterSafer coalition to include resiliency and disaster mitigation work as part of Home Star's eligible activities. As contractors go in to weatherize homes, there is great opportunity to include storm and flood mitigation improvements in addition to energy efficiency repairs. In fact, many storm and flood mitigation measures can improve the benefits of efficiency upgrades with little extra work by trained contractors.
Can a jobs bill increase resilience in Louisiana? Yes, it can and it should.