H.R. 1355

119 HR 1355 IH: Weatherization Enhancement and Readiness Act of 2025
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-02-13
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 1355  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   February 13, 2025   Mr. Tonko  (for himself,  Ms. Kaptur ,  Mr. Riley of New York ,  Mr. Moylan , and  Mr. Lawler ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on Energy and Commerce    A BILL
To amend the Energy Conservation and Production Act to reauthorize the Weatherization Assistance Program, direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a weatherization readiness program, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Weatherization Enhancement and Readiness Act of 2025  .
2.
Weatherization
(a)
Enhancement and innovation
Section 414D of the Energy Conservation and Production Act ( 42 U.S.C. 6864d ) is amended by striking subsection (k).
(b)
Average cost per dwelling unit
Section 415(c)(1) of the Energy Conservation and Production Act ( 42 U.S.C. 6865(c)(1) ) is amended by striking  $6,500  and inserting  $12,000 .
(c)
Clarification of reweatherization limitation
Section 415(c)(2) of the Energy Conservation and Production Act ( 42 U.S.C. 6865(c)(2) ) is amended—
(1)
by striking  , or under other Federal programs ;
(2)
by striking  , may   and inserting  may ; and
(3)
by striking  or under other Federal programs, or from receiving non-Federal assistance for weatherization .
(d)
Renewable energy systems
Section 415(c) of the Energy Conservation and Production Act ( 42 U.S.C. 6865(c) ) is amended by striking paragraph (4).
(e)
Weatherization readiness program
(1)
In general
The Energy Conservation and Production Act is amended by adding after section 414E ( 42 U.S.C. 6864e ) the following section:
414F.
Weatherization readiness program
(a)
In general
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall establish a weatherization readiness program to provide grants to States and tribal organizations to implement measures to make dwelling units occupied by low-income persons ready to receive weatherization measures pursuant to the weatherization program conducted under this part by addressing structural, plumbing, roofing, and electrical issues and environmental hazards, and implementing other measures that the Secretary determines to be appropriate, to reduce the frequency of deferrals of such weatherization measures when the condition of a dwelling unit renders delivery of weatherization measures unsafe or ineffective.
(b)
Alignment of requirements
Except as otherwise provided in this section, to the extent possible, the Secretary shall, in establishing the weatherization readiness program under this section—
(1)
align the requirements of such weatherization readiness program with the requirements of the weatherization program conducted under this part; and
(2)
seek to reduce barriers to leveraging other sources of funding for weatherization readiness measures.
(c)
Savings-to-Investment ratio
The weatherization readiness program established under this section shall not include a savings-to-investment ratio requirement.
(d)
Previous weatherization
Weatherization readiness measures implemented pursuant to the weatherization readiness program established under this section shall not be considered previous weatherization for purposes of section 415(c)(2).
(e)
Average cost per dwelling unit
The Secretary may establish, or require a State grantee to establish, a limit for expenditures for weatherization readiness measures, including labor, materials, and related matters, to be implemented with respect to a dwelling unit, on an average cost per unit basis, pursuant to the weatherization readiness program established under this section.
(f)
Allocation of funds
(1)
In general
The Secretary shall allocate funding made available under this section to States and tribal organizations in a manner consistent with the allocation of financial assistance for weatherization assistance under the weatherization program conducted under this part.
(2)
Updated allocation
Not sooner than October 1, 2029, the Secretary, in consultation with States and tribal organizations, may, by rule, update the method to allocate funding to States and tribal organizations under this section to more accurately reflect the relative need for funding for weatherization readiness measures among low-income persons throughout the States and Indian tribes.
(g)
Administrative expenses
Not more than an amount equal to 15 percent of any grant made by the Secretary under this section may be used for administrative purposes, except that not more than one-half of such amount may be used by any State for such purposes.
(h)
Authorization of appropriations
There is authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to carry out this section.
 .
(2)
Table of contents amendment
The table of contents for the Energy Conservation and Production Act is amended by adding after the item relating to section 414E the following:
Sec. 414F. Weatherization readiness program.
  .
(f)
Reauthorization of weatherization assistance program
Paragraph (2) of section 422 of the Energy Conservation and Production Act ( 42 U.S.C. 6872 ) is amended by striking  2025  and inserting  2030 .