Van Hollen Applauds Administration Action on Provisions to Lower Energy Costs for Americans

Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) released the following statement applauding the Biden-Harris Administration’s action to move forward on provisions he authored within the Inflation Reduction Act to lower energy costs for American families while tackling the climate crisis:

“For Americans working to make ends meet, saving money on their energy bills is a big win. Through my HOPE for HOMES provision in the Inflation Reduction Act, homeowners will soon have the opportunity to receive a rebate when they make energy-efficient upgrades to their homes. I’m glad to see the Biden-Harris Administration move forward on setting up these programs – which will provide over $136 million to help Marylanders make their homes more energy efficient and create new jobs and job training opportunities in our communities. I’m also glad to see the Administration move forward on our provision to finance clean energy and climate projects across the nation. Taken together, these actions will help our nation move forward in the fight against the climate crisis, reduce Americans’ energy costs, advance environmental justice, and spur greater job growth and economic opportunity.”

Today’s measures, as provided by the White House, include the following actions related to the Senator’s HOPE for HOMES and National Climate Bank provisions: 

• Announcing State Allocations from the Inflation Reduction Act to Make Homes More Energy Efficient: DOE announced nearly $9 billion in funding allocations for states and Tribes under new state- and Tribe-administered home efficiency programs established by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. The new rebate program funding could support up to 1.6 million households nationwide in upgrading homes and apartments to lower energy bills, including by installing up to 500,000 heat pumps and conducting deep building retrofits through insulation and electrical wiring. When combined with the estimated 700,000 homes that will be weatherized with the expanded Weatherization Assistance Program under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this puts America on track to achieve President Biden’s campaign goal to weatherize 2 million homes. In sum, these programs will make these cost-saving upgrades more accessible for low- and moderate-income families as states gain momentum toward deploying at least 12 million heat pumps by 2030. With today’s announcement, states can now access information about their allocated funding, and can begin planning programs to distribute relief to families using these funds. 

• Supporting Good-Paying Jobs: DOE is announcing an upcoming roundtable with labor, businesses, and other key stakeholders to get input on the program design of $260 million in workforce development programs to support energy efficiency and building upgrades funded by the Inflation Reduction Act and by the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Building on the momentum from these new programs, Elevate and the Relay Network, an independent partnership of mission-based organizations across from the U.S today committed to electrify thousands of affordable housing units and train more than 100 people of color, women, and Veteran clean energy contractors in partnership with heat pump manufacturers.   

• Mobilizing Community Financing: The Environmental Protection Agency’s new $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund - created by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act to mobilize financing for greenhouse gas reducing clean energy and climate projects -  will host aNational Public Listening Session on Wednesday November 9, 2022 to hear stakeholder input on how these catalytic federal resources can support the deployment of distributed energy resources, including heat pumps, in disadvantaged communities. EPA also published a Request for Information seeking public comment on core design aspects of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.