I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1573 

To establish the National Home Energy Savings Revolving Fund within 

the Department of Energy to provide amounts to units of general local 

government to make loans to homeowners for qualified home energy 

audits and certified energy savings improvements, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 17, 2009 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for himself, Mr. WELCH, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. GIFFORDS, Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Ms. BORDALLO) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 

Commerce 

A BILL 

To establish the National Home Energy Savings Revolving 

Fund within the Department of Energy to provide 

amounts to units of general local government to make 

loans to homeowners for qualified home energy audits 

and certified energy savings improvements, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Home Energy 

5 Savings Revolving Fund Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) HOME ENERGY AUDIT.—The term ‘‘home 

4 energy audit’’ means any process that identifies and 

5 specifies the energy and cost savings that are likely 

6 to be realized through the implementation, acquisi7 tion, and installation of energy savings improve8 ments to a residential property. 

9 (2) QUALIFIED HOME ENERGY AUDIT.—The 

10 term ‘‘qualified home energy audit’’ means an en11 ergy audit that complies with the procedures and 

12 techniques under section 5(a)(2). 

13 (3) RENEWABLE ENERGY MEASURE.—The term 

14 ‘‘renewable energy measure’’ means the appropriate 

15 installation and use of solar, wind, geothermal, fuel 

16 cell, biomass, battery storage, and other applicable 

17 renewable technologies, as determined by the Sec18 retary. 

19 (4) CERTIFIED ENERGY SAVINGS IMPROVE20 MENT.—The term ‘‘certified energy savings improve21 ment’’ means an energy efficiency improvement or 

22 renewable energy measure that meets the require23 ments under section 5(a)(3). 

24 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

25 the Secretary of Energy. 


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1 (6) REVOLVING FUND.—The term ‘‘Revolving 

2 Fund’’ means the National Home Energy Savings 

3 Revolving Fund established under section 3(a). 

4 (7) UNIT OF GENERAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT.— 

5 The term ‘‘unit of general local government’’ means 

6 any general purpose political subdivision of a State 

7 that has the power to levy taxes and spend funds, 

8 as well as general corporate and police powers. 

9 SEC. 3. NATIONAL HOME ENERGY SAVINGS REVOLVING 

10 FUND. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

12 the Department of Energy a revolving fund, to be known 

13 as the ‘‘National Home Energy Savings Revolving Fund’’. 

14 (b) EXPENDITURES.—Any amounts in the Revolving 

15 Fund may be used without fiscal year limitation to provide 

16 funds to units of general local government in accordance 

17 with section 4 for use in making loans to homeowners pur18 suant to section 5(a). 

19 (c) CREDITS.— 

20 (1) CAPITALIZATION AUTHORIZATION.—There 

21 are authorized to be appropriated to the Revolving 

22 Fund $5,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 

23 and 2011. 

24 (2) REPAYMENT AMOUNTS.—The Revolving 

25 Fund shall be credited with amounts received by the 


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1 Secretary from a unit of general local government 

2 equal to loan repayment amounts due to be repaid 

3 by homeowners to whom loans are made pursuant to 

4 section 5(a). 

5 SEC. 4. FUNDING TO UNITS OF GENERAL LOCAL GOVERN6 MENT. 

7 (a) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive funds 

8 under this Act, a unit of general local government shall 

9 submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in 

10 such manner, and containing such information as the Sec11 retary may require, which information shall include a de12 scription of the method required by section 5(c) for mak13 ing payments due under the loan. 

14 (b) AMOUNTS.— 

15 (1) ALLOCATION.—Subject to the limitation 

16 under paragraph (2), the Secretary, in each fiscal 

17 year, shall provide for the allocation of amounts 

18 available in the Revolving Fund to units of general 

19 local government eligible to receive such amounts 

20 based on need among such units of general local 

21 government for amounts for loans to homeowners 

22 pursuant to section 5(a). 

23 (2) LIMITATION.—In any fiscal year, the aggre24 gate amount provided from the Revolving Fund to a 

25 single unit of general local government may not exVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:23 Mar 19, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1573.IH H1573

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1 ceed 2 percent of the total amount available in the 

2 Revolving Fund for such fiscal year. 

3 (c) REPAYMENT.— 

4 (1) HOMEOWNER.—A unit of general local gov5 ernment that receives funds under this Act shall re6 quire full repayment of each loan made to a home7 owner pursuant to section 5(a). 

8 (2) UNIT OF GENERAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT.— 

9 Not later than 120 days after the deadline imposed 

10 by a unit of general local government for repayment 

11 by homeowners of loans made pursuant to section 

12 5(a) in the manner provided by section 5(c), such 

13 unit of general local government shall transfer to the 

14 Secretary amounts due to be repaid, notwithstanding 

15 any default on the part of the homeowner. 

16 SEC. 5. LOANS TO HOMEOWNERS FOR QUALIFIED HOME 

17 ENERGY AUDITS AND CERTIFIED ENERGY 

18 SAVINGS IMPROVEMENTS. 

19 (a) LOANS TO HOMEOWNERS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—A unit of general local gov21 ernment that receives funds under this Act shall use 

22 such funds only to provide loans to homeowners for 

23 the costs of one or more of the following: 


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1 (A) Conducting a qualified home energy 

2 audit (or a qualified home energy audit pre3 viously conducted). 

4 (B) The implementation of any certified 

5 energy savings improvement. 

6 (C) The acquisition of any certified energy 

7 savings improvement. 

8 (D) The installation of any certified energy 

9 savings improvement. 

10 (2) HOME ENERGY AUDIT PROCEDURES AND

11 TECHNIQUES.—The Secretary shall establish proce12 dures and techniques for home energy audits that— 

13 (A) meet standards established by the Sec14 retary after consultation with the State Energy 

15 Advisory Board established under section 

16 365(g) of the Energy and Policy Conservation 

17 Act (42 U.S.C. 6325(g)); 

18 (B) establish priorities for selection of en19 ergy savings improvements based on their cost20 effectiveness, payback period, and contribution 

21 to energy savings; 

22 (C) measure the energy requirement of in23 dividual dwellings and the rate of return of the 

24 total energy savings investment in a dwelling; 

25 and 


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1 (D) account for interaction among energy 

2 savings measures. 

3 (3) CERTIFIED ENERGY SAVINGS IMPROVE4 MENTS.—Loan funds may be used by homeowners 

5 under this section for the implementation, acquisi6 tion, or installation of an energy efficiency improve7 ment or renewable energy measure only if such im8 provement or measure— 

9 (A) has been determined, by means of a 

10 qualified home energy audit, to improve the ef11 ficiency of energy use and to reduce energy 

12 costs (as calculated on the basis of energy costs 

13 projected over time); and 

14 (B) such determination is set forth in a 

15 written report regarding such audit— 

16 (i) listing energy savings improve17 ments in order of cost-effectiveness, pay18 back period, and contribution to energy 

19 savings; and 

20 (ii) prepared and signed by the person 

21 conducting such audit. 

22 (b) ELIGIBLE HOMEOWNERS.—To be eligible to re23 ceive a loan from a unit of general local government under 

24 this section, a homeowner shall submit to such unit of gen25 eral local government an application at such time, in such 


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1 manner, and containing such information as such unit of 

2 general local government may require. 

3 (c) PAYMENT IN CONNECTION WITH PROPERTY TAX

4 PAYMENT.—A unit of general local government that re5 ceives funds under this Act shall establish a method by 

6 which a homeowner to whom a loan is made pursuant to 

7 section 5(a) may make payments due under such loan in 

8 connection with any payments submitted for any property 

9 tax assessed or collected by such unit of general local gov10 ernment. 

11 (d) REPAYMENT TERMS.—A unit of general local 

12 government that receives funds under this Act shall estab13 lish terms for repayment of loans made pursuant to sec14 tion 5(a) that comply with subsection (e) and meet the 

15 following goals in the following order of priority: 

16 (1) The terms shall provide that, on an annual 

17 basis, the aggregate amount of payments due on a 

18 loan shall be less than the aggregate amount of sav19 ings achieved by implementation, acquisition, or in20 stallation of certified energy savings improvements 

21 financed under the loan. 

22 (2) The terms shall provide that homeowners 

23 shall make repayments of such loans in such 

24 amounts as are necessary to minimize costs to the 

25 Revolving Fund established under section 3(a) and 


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1 that any such repayments shall be transferred to the 

2 Secretary and credited to such Fund. 

3 (e) LOAN MATURITY AND INTEREST.—A loan under 

4 this section shall have a term to maturity of not more than 

5 15 years and shall not bear interest. 

6 (f) LOAN AMOUNT LIMITATIONS.—The total amount 

7 of all loans made pursuant to section 5(a) from a unit 

8 of general local government to a single homeowner may 

9 not exceed $10,000, except that a unit of general local 

10 government, in its discretion, may establish a loan amount 

11 limitation in a lesser amount. 

12 (g) PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE REQUIREMENT.—A unit 

13 of general local government may make a loan under this 

14 section only if such loan will be used for eligible purposes 

15 under subsection (a) with respect to the principal resi16 dence of the homeowner who is the borrower. 

17 (h) INFORMATION REQUIREMENT.—A unit of general 

18 local government that receives funds under this Act, in 

19 accordance with such standards as the Secretary shall es20 tablish, shall make available to homeowners information 

21 about loans available pursuant to section 5(a) including— 

22 (1) a description of the eligible purposes for 

23 which a loan may be used; 


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1 (2) a list of home energy auditors in the area 

2 that are certified to perform qualified home energy 

3 audits; and 

4 (3) repayment procedures and terms established 

5 in accordance with subsection (d), including repay6 ment procedures and terms if a loan is provided only 

7 for the costs of conducting a qualified home energy 

8 audit. 

9 SEC. 6. REPORTS TO THE SECRETARY. 

10 For each year any loan made by a unit of general 

11 local government pursuant to section 5(a) is outstanding, 

12 such unit of general local government shall submit to the 

13 Secretary a report describing the use of funds from the 

14 Revolving Fund, identifying the number of loans provided 

15 under this Act, the repayment rate of the loans, the de16 fault rate of the loans, and any other information the Sec17 retary determines to be appropriate. 

Æ 


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