Hoyer Statement on Passage of Rural Energy Savings Program Act

WASHINGTON, DC - House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today after passage of the Rural Energy Savings Program Act (H.R. 4785):  

“Today the House passed the Rural Energy Savings Program Act, also known as the RuralStar program. RuralStar establishes loans that help rural families, and families all over the country, retrofit their homes and enhance energy efficiency. It is part of the Make It In America agenda, a plan to boost manufacturing and create secure, middle-class jobs for American workers. The House has passed 10 Make It In America bills to strengthen job-creating industries at home, invest in our workforce, and fight for a fair playing field for American companies; three have already been signed into law.
 
“RuralStar boosts our economy in three ways: it supports the job-creating production of energy-efficiency products that are manufactured in the United States; it creates energy retrofitting jobs that cannot be outsourced; and it helps families and small businesses save money on their energy bills. RuralStar is an excellent way to strengthen the communities that have been hit especially hard in the recession, and it is projected to create up to 40,000 American jobs. Republicans, continuing their one-and-a-half-year record of standing against job-creating programs, overwhelmingly opposed this bill; nevertheless, I urge the Senate to pass it, so that President Obama can sign it into law and make an important contribution to our economic recovery.”