HUD/DOE partnership makes it easier for working families to weatherize homes

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu today announced a major partnership between HUD and DOE that will streamline and better coordinate federal weatherization efforts to make it much easier for families to weatherize their homes and spur a new home energy efficiency industry that could create tens of thousands of jobs.
Vice President Joe Biden, joined by Secretary Donovan and Secretary Chu, praised the announcement during his remarks at a meeting of the White House Task Force on Middle Class Families in Philadelphia.
"Today in Philadelphia, I am proud to announce that the Energy and HUD Secretaries are joining together in an historic partnership to create thousands of jobs in the retro-fitting and weatherization industry," said Vice President Biden. "This partnership is exactly the type of leadership and ingenuity we need to get this economy going again."
HUD and DOE have created a high level interagency task force to coordinate home weatherization efforts under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and to leverage those funds to build a home energy efficiency industry in the U.S. that will: create or retain tens of thousands of jobs, lower energy costs of vulnerable low-income households, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"This partnership will help build an industry and save or create thousands of jobs," said Secretary Donovan. "In addition to saving and creating jobs, we have an opportunity to make our affordable housing stock, as well as all housing, energy efficient with the funds provided through the President's Recovery Plan. I look forward to working with Secretary Chu in the very important partnership."
"This partnership will help put Americans back to work while saving families hundreds of dollars on their energy bills," Secretary Chu said. "It reflects the Obama-Biden Administration's commitment to moving swiftly to restore our economy and offer real help to hardworking families who are struggling to make ends meet."
HUD and DOE will allocate $16 billion in economic recovery funds to retrofit existing homes. HUD's programs include $4.5 billion to renovate and upgrade public and Native American housing (a good portion of which will be invested in energy improvements) as well as $250 million for energy retrofits of privately owned federally assisted housing. DOE will invest $5 billion in weatherization funds; $3.2 billion for a new Energy and Environment Block Grant that cities and states can use to retrofit homes; $3.1 for the State Energy Program; and other programs.
These economic recovery funds provide an historic opportunity for the two agencies to work together to accelerate deployment of energy efficient and green building technologies in millions of homes - and at the same time to help create a highly qualified, highly trained, and high-performing workforce.
The new interagency task force will:

• Provide guidance to public and assisted housing. HUD and DOE will work together to provide a common set of guidelines and specifications for retrofitting public housing, as well as privately owned, federally-subsidized rental properties. These guidelines will assist the nation's 3,300 housing authorities, housing 1.2 million families, on how to use about $4 billion in Recovery Act funds to "go green" through sound energy efficient building practices.
• Coordinate expenditure of economic recovery funds. HUD and DOE will sign an Interagency Agreement within 30 days on coordinating the use of weatherization assistance, energy efficiency and conservation block grant and other recovery funds in local communities. These include, for example, exploring ways to increase the use of weatherization funds in public and assisted housing, and coordinating the use of CDBG and EECBG funds in local communities. The HUD/DOE collaboration will help catalyze a home performance/energy retrofit industry in the U.S.
• Develop common baseline for measuring energy efficiency measures. HUD and DOE will lead a government wide effort to develop a common baseline for measuring home energy use and the gains from efficiency improvements. The goal of this effort is to provide the information base and metrics necessary to help support a national energy efficiency market for the housing sector. In order to assure that homeowners get the savings that they have invested in, HUD and DOE will work with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and industry experts to develop and disseminate a tool that will provide homeowners and consumers with an easy way to assess the relative energy efficiency of their homes, and the effectiveness of investments in energy efficiency.
• Develop new home energy financing products. HUD and DOE will also explore home energy disclosure and audit standards as well as new financing tools that will enable national scale investment in residential energy efficiency. These include greater use of revolving funds, expanded energy mortgage financing tools through the Federal Housing Administration, as well as exploring the use of DOE loan guarantee authority in the residential sector.

HUD and DOE will report monthly to the Vice President on the progress under this collaborative effort. 

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HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to sustaining homeownership; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development and enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov [1] and espanol.hud.gov [2].

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