Polis Calls for the Federal Housing Finance Agency Director to Work with Stakeholders on PACE Programs or Resign
FHFA’s failure to work with PACE stakeholders risks shutting down successful programs
July 19, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — Continuing his efforts to support Colorado’s clean energy economy, Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) has called on the Acting Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Edward DeMarco to either work cooperatively with stakeholders and communities toward resolving PACE programs or step down. The letter is available here.
“PACE programs have been expanding rapidly across Colorado because they create jobs, cut pollution, and allow homeowners the chance to save money on their utility bills,” said Polis. “Resistance to these groundbreaking programs has gone on for far too long and our communities are suffering. The FHFA must come to the table and work with our communities to find a solution that allows our successful PACE programs to continue and grow as intended under the Recovery Act. If the Acting Director of the FHFA continues to refuse to cooperate, then he should let someone else take over who won’t stand in the way of this successful program.”
A PACE bond is a small municipal bond where the proceeds are used to finance clean energy retrofits for commercial and residential property owners like solar power or energy efficiency improvements. The costs of these improvements are paid back over many years via an annual assessment on the property tax bill, similar to tax assessments levied for earthquake, flood, sewer, or sidewalk retrofits that have worked successfully across the country. This model minimizes the upfront costs of improvements and keeps the costs with the property, not the homeowner removing the disincentives that currently exist with high upfront costs and homeowners moving before the benefits of these retrofits can be realized.
PACE programs are an important part of Colorado’s growing clean energy economy, with successful programs such as Boulder County’s “Climate Smart” program and Eagle county’s first-in-the-nation rural PACE program growing in popularity. Unfortunately, these programs were shutdown earlier this year, after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, regulated by the FHFA, suspended $150 million in PACE pilot program funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, preventing countless Colorado homeowners from moving forward with energy efficiency and clean energy projects.
Polis has been a leader in Congress in the fight to protect PACE programs, working with members of Congress as well as House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank to promote the programs. He has been in close contact with Boulder and Eagle Counties, the national PACENOW coalition, and others on this issue and has met with legal counsel and experts from FHFA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Below is a full list of Polis’ actions on the PACE issue:
- 7/13/2010 Letter to FHFA Director Edward DeMarco
- 5/20/2010 Letter to FHFA Director Edward DeMarco
- 5/20/2010 Letter from Chairman Barney Frank
- 12/22/2009 Letter to Karen Bahn, US Dept. of Energy
- 12/1/2009 Letter to President Obama
- Cosponsored: H.R. 3836 and H.R. 4155 — the Property Assessed Clean Energy Tax Benefits Act of 2009
