mr. butterfield: thank you very much, mr. speaker. let me apologize to the speaker and to the ranking member and colleagues for all of the confusion, but we are ready to proceed on this matter. mr. speaker, i have reviewed this amendment. it appears to be in keeping with the spirit of the underlying legislation. i would urge my colleagues to support it. with that i would reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas, is the gentleman opposed to the amendment? mr. barton: i am, mr. speaker. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. barton: thank you, sir. i'd ask the author designee if he'd like to engage in a colloquy on this amendment? mr. butterfield. mr. butterfield: to the extent that i can, mr. barton. mr. barton: can you define whether the -- house is? mr. butterfield: i do not have that material in front of me. mr. barton: ok. we're getting a pig in the poke here, is that right? i'm -- mr. butterfield: you certainly appreciate the disadvant

mr. butterfield: thank you very much, mr. speaker.ield myself such time as i may consume. i'm a proud co-sponsor of the bill authored by the dwrished majority whip of south carolina -- distinguished in a er -- majority whip of south carolina. it will not only quickly create construction and manufacturing jobs but it will also help americans make their homes more energy efficient. the agriculture committee reported this bill favorably in july and i want to commend the chairman of the committee, mr. peterson, and mr. clyburn, for subsequently working with my committee to actually improve the legislation. the bill includes the home star energy efficiency loan program that was reported by the energy and commerce committee on april 15, 2010, as part of h.r. 5019, the home star energy retrofit act of 2010. mr. speaker, h.r. 5019 was approved by the committee with a bipartisan vote of 30-17. it was supported by a broad array of stakeholders including energy efficiency advocates, manufacturers and small businesses, business and industry trade