WellHome President Larry Laseter Testified at Senate Hearing In Support of HOME STAR Proposal

WASHINGTON, March 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Larry Laseter, President of WellHome, a subsidiary of leading home improvement company Masco Corporation (NYSE: MAS), testified today before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources to voice support for the proposed HOME STAR program.  Laseter appeared before the Senate Committee on behalf of the HOME STAR Coalition, which is comprised of a broad group of industry, labor, energy and environmental supporters, along with more than 600 small businesses representing all 50 states.

"We applaud the efforts of the administration to introduce a jobs creation bill and stand together in support of the HOME STAR program, which will deliver a rare triple win for the American people in the form of jobs, savings for consumers, and a positive impact on the environment," said Laseter. "The HOME STAR program will put our nation's skilled construction force back to work, benefit homeowners through comfort and energy efficiency improvements to their existing homes, and result in long-term energy and environmental gains.  We urge Congress to expedite approval of this program so that Americans can get back to work."

The HOME STAR program, which has been dubbed "cash for caulkers", is designed to provide rebates and other financial incentives to encourage homeowners to weatherize their homes and make other energy efficiency improvements.  To supply this increased demand for home energy improvements, businesses will create skilled jobs and spur increased manufacturing of insulation, windows, HVAC equipment and other products predominantly produced in the United States.

"In addition to putting our skilled construction trades and building products manufacturers back to work, The HOME STAR program delivers immediate savings to millions of American families and provides financing and quality assurance processes to ensure the program gets results," said Laseter.  "Our experience with home performance retrofits shows that homeowners can see energy efficiency gains of 20 – 50 percent."

WellHome is opening multiple locations across the country to provide home performance services, including whole home comfort and energy efficiency assessments, recommendations and project implementation.  Unlike simple energy auditing services, WellHome provides assessments and implementation, serving as the general contractor to oversee all home improvement projects.  In addition, WellHome backs up their process with a Whole Home Energy Savings Limited Guarantee.*

"We see a great opportunity to establish leadership in this emerging industry and are choosing to invest in it now," said Laseter.  "We believe there will be significant interest by families to improve their home's performance, and we want to be their trusted, one-stop solution."

About WellHome and Masco Home Services

WellHome is a leading home performance company and is a business of Masco Home Services, Inc., headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is a subsidiary of leading home products company Masco Corporation (NYSE: MAS).The Company provides home performance assessments conducted by Building Performance Institute-certified advisors, improvement recommendations and implementation, as well as assistance on identifying rebates and incentives.  We are recognized as an innovative leader in the creation of energy efficient and comfortable homes through the Environments For Living® and Environments For Living Certified Green programs.  The Environments For Living program is a national, turnkey home performance program for residential builders designed to help them build comfortable more energy efficient homes using principles of building science.  Since 2001, more than 130,000 homes have been built under the Environments For Living banner. We are a member of the HOME STAR Coalition and a founding member of Efficiency First, two organizations leading the education efforts and advocacy for home performance.  

* See the full Whole Home Energy Savings Limited Guarantee for details and limitations; available from WellHome upon request.

SOURCE WellHome