FEDS FUND HOME RETROFITS

Biden Says Energy-Saving Plan Would Help Homeowners
Daniel Whitten and Roger Runningen, October 19, 2009 (Bloomberg News)

"The Obama administration is backing a plan to let homeowners finance the cost of energy-efficiency improvements through their property tax assessments.

"The proposal is one of several that would help cut U.S. energy consumption while creating jobs in industries that make and install energy-efficient products such as insulation, Vice President Joe Biden said…Retrofitting homes with insulation and weather-proofing doors can save [$300-to-$1,200 per year, providing rapid payback on the investment], Biden said…"

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"Biden said the proposal builds on provisions of the $787 billion stimulus package passed by Congress earlier. As part of the stimulus, the Energy Department was given $7.6 billion to dole out to states to weatherproof homes and other energy efficiency efforts…[T]he provision meets the [Obama administration’s] twin goals of boosting jobs in so-called green industries and helping the U.S. cut greenhouse-gas emissions.

"Each year, Americans spend $1,500 to $3,000 to heat and air condition their homes, Biden said. Paying for improvements on property tax bills would let homeowners spread the cost of the investment over time…In addition, the new initiative, dubbed Recovery Through Retrofit, would provide wider access to reliable information about increasing the energy efficiency, set national standards for training of workers to perform such jobs and create a certification process identifying energy-efficient homes."

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"Retrofitting the nation’s 130 million homes for energy efficiency would cut greenhouse gas emissions by as much 20 percent, the equivalent of taking 30 million cars off the road, Biden said. Savings on energy bills would amount to $21 billion annually…

"Republicans have criticized the stimulus legislation, saying it added to the deficit without doing enough to boost jobs…Republican Representative Doc Hastings, of Washington, said the administration was creating a relatively small number of jobs in energy efficiency, while effectively slashing jobs in traditional energy sectors like oil and gas production…The administration reported last week that federal contracts awarded so far have saved or created 30,383 jobs…[T]he stimulus has allowed school districts to avoid layoffs and restore budgets, resulting in about 250,000 education jobs."