A $5 billion boost to the 3-decade-old Weatherization Assistance Program contained in the stimulus bill passed by Congress could help caulk and seal hundreds of thousands more homes, but critics say it is not clear that it will create numerous jobs.
President Barack Obama has said that the new funding will create tens of thousands of jobs, improve the nation’s energy efficiency and cut energy costs for hundreds of thousands of low-income homeowners. The National Community Action Foundation, a group that advocates for low-income families, estimates that 46,000 jobs would be created nationwide.
To qualify, a home must have an income not more than 50 percent above the poverty level, according to the Department of Energy.
But some say the stimulus bill is not the appropriate place to allocate funding for the weatherization program, which now has a budget of $447 million. “We always know there’s weather coming,” said Leslie Paige, a representative for Citizens Against Government Waste, a taxpayer watchdog organization. “It’s not something that needs to go in an emergency recovery package.”
Paige said critics worry that the extra money will be spent on the administrative costs rather than meeting Obama’s goals.
House Republicans agreed.
“Having the federal government pay for caulk and insulation may or may not be a sensible idea, but it will do little or nothing to create jobs,” said House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio, according to The Associated Press.
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