The Gullible Right Bites again

H.R. 2454 - License will be required for your house
Forwarded email claims that H.R. 2454, also known as the 'Cap and Trade' bill, will require homeowners to retrofit their homes to comply with new energy efficiency standards before being allowed to sell them.

Description: Forwarded email
Circulating since: Aug. 2009
Status: Mostly false

Analysis: This much is true: Last year the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, known colloquially as the "Cap and Trade" bill. However, very little of what the above email says about the legislation is accurate. Let's examine the claims:

CLAIM: Beginning 1 year after enactment of the Cap and Trade Act, you won't be able to sell your home unless you retrofit it to comply with the energy and water efficiency standards of this Act.

STATUS: FALSE. I've scoured Section 202 of the bill ("Building Retrofit Program"), which supposedly contains this mandate, and found nothing of the kind. Basically, this section lays out the details of a program whereby the federal government will help states provide financial assistance for local governments to conduct cost-effective energy-saving retrofits. Nowhere does it stipulate that owners of existing homes must comply with efficiency standards or obtain a "license" to sell their homes. In point of fact, the House Energy and Commerce Committee's own summary of Section 202 states: "Nothing would require a homeowner to audit or retrofit their home to ensure that it meets building code requirements."

CLAIM: H.R. 2454, the "Cap & Trade" bill passed by the House of Representatives, if also passed by the Senate, will be the largest tax increase any of us has ever experienced. The Congressional Budget Office (supposedly non-partisan) estimates that in just a few years the average cost to every family of four will be $6,800 per year.

STATUS: FALSE. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that implementation of of H.R. 2454 would result in federal expenditures costing the average household $175 per year, beginning in 2020 (CBO projects little or no cost to the average taxpayer before then).

CLAIM: Sect. 204 - Building Energy Performance Labeling Program establishes a labeling program that for each individual residence will identify the achieved energy efficiency performance.... You will be required to post the label in a conspicuous location in your home and will not be allowed to sell your home without having this label.

STATUS: FALSE AS STATED. Section 204 does provide for the development of a voluntary (for states) energy performance labeling program only for new buildings constructed after enactment of the bill. It states that labeling information must be "accessible to the public in a manner so that owners, lenders, tenants, occupants, of other relevant parties can utilize it," which doesn't necessarily translate to "You will be required to post the label in a conspicuous location in your home." And, as before, the committee summary of Section 204 states: "Nothing would require a homeowner to audit or retrofit their home to ensure that it meets building code requirements."

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/government/a/cap_and_trade.htm