NORA Reauthorization

摘要

The question people have asked me for so long is what is the status of NORA's reauthorization? We have been working very hard to restore the program and are starting to see some progress.First, and most importantly, we have two very good reauthorization bills that have been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Four Representatives, two Republicans and two Democrats, have introduced H.R. 1756. These representatives included Charlie Bass (R-NH), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Leonard Lance (R-NJ), and Peter Welch (D-VT). This is a simple reauthorization of NORA, making some technical improvements, and then providing a seven year renewal. On the Senate side, there were five original co-sponsors, leading the charge were Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Richard Burr (R-NC). They introduced S. 949. This bill would extend NORA by seven years, and would also empower NORA to develop new programs to improve the energy efficiency of homes, and expand training opportunities for the industry. We are particularly pleased that this support came on a bi-partisan basis.