Owens Corning Supports President Obama's HOMESTAR Program to Create U.S. Jobs and Improve Energy Efficiency in America's Homes
March 03 2010 - 4:43PM
PR Newswire (US)
TOLEDO, Ohio, March 3 /PR Newswire-First-Call/ -- Owens Corning , a
leading producer of residential glass-fiber insulation, today
announced its support of President Obama's $6 billion HOMESTAR
program that promotes the creation of tens of thousands of U.S.
jobs and encourages consumers to make energy-saving home
improvements, including sealing and insulating. President Obama
introduced the program in a speech Tuesday, March 2, at the
Savannah Technical College in Savannah, Ga. With unemployment in
the construction sector near 25 percent and with substantial
underutilized capacity in the manufacturing sector, the HOMESTAR
program has the potential to jump-start economic recovery by
boosting demand for energy-efficiency products and installation
services - products and services that are almost exclusively
manufactured in the United States. "Owens Corning strongly supports
President Obama's HOMESTAR proposal," said Mike Thaman, chairman
and chief executive officer. "We applaud the President's leadership
in driving policy that promotes job creation and energy efficiency.
Encouraging consumers to make energy-saving home improvements, like
sealing and insulating, will create U.S. jobs, while saving energy
and lowering homeowners' energy bills. "The current condition of
the U.S. housing market provides a unique opportunity to take
advantage of available product and skilled worker capacity to get
this done. We will work to support the President's HOMESTAR
initiative and its many benefits," said Thaman. The HOMESTAR
program will help middle-class families save hundreds of dollars a
year in energy costs, while improving the comfort and value of
their most important investment - their homes. Homeowners can
collect on-the-spot rebates of up to $1,500 for having their attics
properly sealed and insulated. The Obama administration expects
about 2 million to 3 million households to participate in the
HOMESTAR program, which also will help reduce the U.S. economy's
dependence on oil and support the development of an
energy-efficiency services sector. During his speech Tuesday,
President Obama emphasized the importance of America pursuing
energy-efficiency improvements, saying "the country that leads in
clean energy is also going to be the country that leads in the
global economy. Just like a responsible homeowner will invest in
their homes in the near term to fortify their economic security in
the long term, we've got to do the same as a country." America's
homes and commercial buildings consume 40 percent of the nation's
energy and more than 70 percent of the nation's electricity,
presenting a significant and urgent need to improve energy
efficiency in homes. "We believe in and are supportive of putting
people back to work in a way that makes homes more energy
efficient," said Frank O'Brien-Bernini, chief sustainability
officer. "With 80 million under-insulated homes in the United
States, the President's HOMESTAR initiative addresses a real
problem with practical solutions that are readily available today."
The HOMESTAR proposal still needs approval from Congress. About
Owens Corning Owens Corning is a leading global producer of
residential and commercial building materials, glass-fiber
reinforcements and engineered materials for composite systems. A
Fortune 500 Company for 55 consecutive years, Owens Corning is
committed to driving sustainability by delivering solutions,
transforming markets and enhancing lives. Founded in 1938, Owens
Corning is a market-leading innovator of glass-fiber technology
with sales of $4.8 billion in 2009 and about 16,000 employees in 28
countries on five continents. Additional information is available
at http://www.owenscorning.com/. DATASOURCE: Owens Corning CONTACT:
Investor & Media Relations, Scott Deitz, +1-419-248-8935 Web
Site: http://www.owenscorning.com/
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