II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3535 

To amend the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 to increase 

the availability of heating and cooling assistance, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 31, 2022 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. WARREN, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, and Mr. SANDERS) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act 

of 1981 to increase the availability of heating and cooling 

assistance, 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 ‘‘Heating and Cooling 

5 Relief Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that: 

8 (1) Energy remains unaffordable for low-income 

9 households. Nationally, low-income households spend 


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1 a larger portion of their income on home energy 

2 costs than other households. The average low-income 

3 household’s energy burden is 3 times that of other 

4 households. The report for the Household Pulse Sur5 vey of the Bureau of the Census, issued on Decem6 ber 22, 2021, noted that, for families with incomes 

7 of less than $35,000 a year, about 51 percent said 

8 that they reduced or went without basic household 

9 necessities, such as medicine or food, in order to pay 

10 an energy bill, for at least one month in the last 

11 year. 

12 (2) The Low-Income Housing Energy Assist13 ance Program was authorized by Congress to reduce 

14 home energy burdens with heating and cooling as15 sistance. In 2019, only 16 percent of income-eligible 

16 households received a subsidy under the program. 

17 (3) Climate change is fueling increasingly in18 tense winter storms and extreme temperatures. 

19 (4) Heat waves are increasingly common as cli20 mate change accelerates, and now occur more often 

21 in major cities across the United States. The aver22 age heat wave season across 50 cities is approxi23 mately 47 days longer now than it was in the 1960s. 

24 As a result, the Federal Government should provide 

25 further cooling assistance for communities in need. 


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1 (5) The loss of home energy service due to high 

2 energy burdens is one of the primary reasons for 

3 homelessness, especially for families with children. 

4 In some housing contexts, loss of home energy serv5 ice is a grounds for eviction. 

6 (6) The Federal Government should expand and 

7 update the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance 

8 Program, as part of a robust Federal social safety 

9 net, to— 

10 (A) protect families against unaffordable 

11 home energy bills and home energy shutoffs, by 

12 providing sufficient funding and imposing regu13 lations where necessary; 

14 (B) ensure all low- and moderate-income 

15 families have access to affordable home cooling 

16 powered by renewable energy, which will enable 

17 households to adapt to rising temperatures due 

18 to climate change and promote climate resil19 iency; 

20 (C) enhance outreach— 

21 (i) by including nontraditional part22 ners, including home energy suppliers, 

23 local educational agencies, and entities car24 rying out other programs for low-income 

25 people, to assist with signups; and 


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1 (ii) by adding stronger provisions for 

2 presumed eligibility and waiving docu3 mentation requirements for eligibility; and 

4 (D) further Federal efforts to weatherize 

5 housing for low- and moderate-income house6 holds, to help families struggling to pay their 

7 home energy bills and to meet national clean 

8 energy goals. 

9 SEC. 3. FUNDING. 

10 Section 2602 of the Low-Income Home Energy As11 sistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (b)— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘section 2607A)’’ and in14 serting ‘‘section 2604(f), 2607A, 2607B, or 

15 2607C)’’; and 

16 (B) by striking ‘‘$2,000,000,000’’ and all 

17 that follows and inserting ‘‘$400,000,000,000 

18 for the period of fiscal years 2022 through 

19 2031.’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (e), by inserting ‘‘, or arising, 

21 for purposes of section 2604(e)(2), from a major 

22 disaster or emergency, as defined in section 

23 2604(e)(2)(A)’’ before the period at the end; and 

24 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(f) There is authorized to be appropriated to carry 

2 out section 2604(f), $1,000,000,000 for each of fiscal 

3 years 2022 through 2031. 

4 ‘‘(g) There is authorized to be appropriated to carry 

5 out section 2607C, including making grants under that 

6 section, $1,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 

7 through 2031.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

9 Section 2603 of the Low-Income Home Energy As10 sistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8622) is amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

12 (6), (7) through (10), and (11), as paragraphs (5) 

13 through (7), (9) through (12), and (14), respec14 tively; 

15 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(4) The term ‘HEAP coordinator’ means an 

18 employee— 

19 ‘‘(A) who administers a program funded 

20 under section 2602(b); and 

21 ‘‘(B) whose salary is paid, partly or wholly, 

22 with funds made available under that section.’’; 

23 (3) by inserting after paragraph (7), as so re24 designated, the following: 


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1 ‘‘(8) The term ‘local coordinating agency’ 

2 means any local organization or local office that re3 ceives funds under section 2602(b) to perform cus4 tomer intake, or approval of benefits, on behalf of 

5 the State agency.’’; and 

6 (4) by inserting after paragraph (12), as so re7 designated, the following: 

8 ‘‘(13) The term ‘State agency’ means any State 

9 agency that administers the program funded under 

10 section 2602(b).’’. 

11 SEC. 5. EMERGENCIES. 

12 Section 2604(e) of the Low-Income Home Energy 

13 Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8623(e)) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘(e)’’ and inserting ‘‘(e)(1)’’; 

15 and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(2)(A) In this paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(i) The term ‘covered household’ means an eli19 gible household in an area where the President, or 

20 the Secretary, as the case may be, has declared a 

21 major disaster or emergency. 

22 ‘‘(ii) The term ‘major disaster or emergency’ 

23 means— 

24 ‘‘(I) a major disaster or emergency de25 clared under section 401 or 501, respectively, of 


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1 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

2 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170, 

3 5191); or 

4 ‘‘(II) a public health emergency declared 

5 under section 319 of the Public Health Service 

6 Act (42 U.S.C. 247d). 

7 ‘‘(B) Upon a declaration described in subparagraph 

8 (A) for an area, the Secretary and the Administrator of 

9 the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall, to the 

10 extent practicable, provide heating or cooling assistance 

11 to covered households in that area. 

12 ‘‘(C) In particular, in the event of a major disaster 

13 or other emergency due to a period of extreme heat (as 

14 described in section 2604(f)(1)) or cold in an area, the 

15 Secretary and the Administrator shall, to the extent prac16 ticable, provide cooling or heating assistance to covered 

17 households in that area.’’. 

18 SEC. 6. ADDITIONAL COOLING ASSISTANCE FOR HEAT 

19 WAVES. 

20 Section 2604 of the Low-Income Home Energy As21 sistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8623) is amended by add22 ing at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(f)(1) In this subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The term ‘additional cooling assistance’ 

2 means cooling assistance provided under this sub3 section. 

4 ‘‘(B) The term ‘extreme heat’ means heat that 

5 exceeds local climatological norms in terms of any 1 

6 or more of the following: 

7 ‘‘(i) Duration. 

8 ‘‘(ii) Intensity. 

9 ‘‘(iii) Season length. 

10 ‘‘(iv) Frequency. 

11 ‘‘(C) The term ‘heat’ means any 1 or more of 

12 the parameters associated with increasing human 

13 temperature, such as air temperature, humidity, 

14 solar exposure, and low wind speed. 

15 ‘‘(D) The term ‘heat event’ means an occur16 rence of extreme heat that may have heat-health im17 plications. 

18 ‘‘(E) The term ‘heat-health’ means health ef19 fects to humans from heat, during or outside of heat 

20 events, including from vulnerability and exposure, or 

21 the risk of such effects. 

22 ‘‘(2) From funds made available under section 

23 2602(f), the Secretary may provide grants to eligible enti24 ties, which shall be States, territories, or Indian Tribes, 

25 for additional cooling assistance for heat events. 


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1 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall determine an allocation plan 

2 for providing eligible entities with funding through the 

3 grants to help eligible households respond to heat events. 

4 ‘‘(4) To receive assistance under this subsection, an 

5 eligible entity shall provide assurances to the Secretary 

6 that— 

7 ‘‘(A) the eligible entity will not preclude a 

8 household that receives heating assistance under this 

9 title during a calendar year, on the basis of obtain10 ing that assistance, from receiving cooling assistance 

11 under this title during that year; and 

12 ‘‘(B) the eligible entity will not require a house13 hold to indicate that a household member has a 

14 medical need for cooling assistance under this title, 

15 to be eligible for that assistance. 

16 ‘‘(5) A eligible entity that receives additional cooling 

17 assistance may use the assistance for purposes for which 

18 cooling assistance is available under the program funded 

19 under section 2602(b), including for providing energy-effi20 cient air conditioners, and other equipment needed for 

21 home cooling, to eligible households.’’. 

22 SEC. 7. ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS. 

23 Section 2605 of the Low-Income Home Energy As24 sistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8624) is amended— 

25 (1) in subsection (b)(2)— 


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1 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

2 (A), by inserting ‘‘, subject to subsection 

3 (c)(1)(A),’’ after ‘‘only’’; 

4 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

5 ‘‘(B)’’ and all that follows through clause (ii) 

6 and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(B) households with— 

8 ‘‘(i) incomes which do not exceed the 

9 greater of— 

10 ‘‘(I) an amount equal to 250 per11 cent of the poverty line that is defined 

12 and revised as described in section 

13 673 of the Community Services Block 

14 Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902); or 

15 ‘‘(II) an amount equal to 80 per16 cent of the State median income; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) a monthly energy burden of 3 

18 percent or more, as averaged across the 

19 calendar year preceding the determination 

20 under this paragraph,’’; and 

21 (C) in the matter following subparagraph 

22 (B), by inserting before the semicolon the fol23 lowing: ‘‘, and the State may not exclude a 

24 household from eligibility on the basis of citiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Jan 31, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3535.IS S3535

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1 zenship of 1 or more of the household mem2 bers’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (c)(1)(A), by striking ‘‘assist4 ance to be provided under this title, including cri5 teria’’ and inserting ‘‘assistance to be provided 

6 under this title, including— 

7 ‘‘(i) certifying that the State and local 

8 coordinating agencies in the State— 

9 ‘‘(I) will allow applicants for the 

10 assistance, to the greatest extent pos11 sible, to self-attest that the applicants 

12 meet the criteria in this title for an el13 igible household; and 

14 ‘‘(II) will not require the appli15 cants to submit proof of income, citi16 zenship, or need, to establish status as 

17 an eligible household; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) describing criteria’’; 

19 (3) in subsection (f), by adding at the end the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(3) For purposes of section 401(c), and the remain22 der of title IV, of the Personal Responsibility and Work 

23 Opportunity Reconciliation of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1611(a), 

24 1601 et seq.) assistance under this title should not be con25 sidered to be a Federal public benefit.’’; and 


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1 (4) in subsection (j), by striking ‘‘the State may 

2 apply’’ and inserting ‘‘the State may, subject to sub3 section (c)(1)(A)(i), apply’’. 

4 SEC. 8. CONDITIONS FOR FUNDING. 

5 Section 2605 of the Low-Income Home Energy As6 sistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8624) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (b)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (1)(C), by inserting be9 fore the semicolon the following: ‘‘, using toxin10 free materials that do not contain asthmagens 

11 or respiratory sensitizers, giving priority in the 

12 use of those funds, to the greatest extent prac13 ticable, to supporting emergency home repairs 

14 that foster energy efficiency, decarbonization, 

15 and climate resilience, including through bene16 ficial electrification of heating and cooling’’; 

17 (B) in paragraph (7)— 

18 (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

19 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

20 (ii) by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(E) ensure that— 

23 ‘‘(i) the home energy supplier will not 

24 charge late fees for any payment, by a 

25 household receiving assistance through the 


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1 program funded under section 2602(b), 

2 during the period beginning 6 months be3 fore and ending 6 months after a date on 

4 which the supplier receives funds through 

5 the program for the household; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) if the supplier receives funds 

7 through the program for such a household 

8 and charged such late fees during that pe9 riod, the supplier shall refund the fees to 

10 the household not later than 7 days after 

11 the date the supplier receives the funds; 

12 ‘‘(F) ensure that the home energy supplier 

13 will not shut off home energy from a household 

14 that received assistance through the program 

15 funded under section 2602(b), within the 1-year 

16 period beginning on the date the household re17 ceived the assistance; 

18 ‘‘(G) ensure that the home energy supplier, 

19 in return for receiving assistance through the 

20 program funded under section 2602(b)— 

21 ‘‘(i) will provide to the State data on 

22 households that have not paid their home 

23 energy bills, to enable the State and the 

24 supplier to carry out coordinated outreach 

25 concerning assistance available through the 


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1 program funded under section 2602(b); 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(ii) will, when sending a notice of 

4 late payments to such households, include 

5 information on such assistance, on how to 

6 access such assistance through the HEAP 

7 program, and on eligibility criteria for the 

8 program; and 

9 ‘‘(H) ensure that the home energy supplier 

10 will, not later than 2 years after the date of en11 actment of the Heating and Cooling Relief Act, 

12 in return for receiving assistance under the pro13 gram funded under section 2602(b) and 

14 through a partnership with the State, offer per15 centage of income payment plans;’’; and 

16 (C) in paragraph (9)— 

17 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

18 (I) by striking ‘‘10 percent’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘15 percent’’; and 

20 (II) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

21 and 

22 (ii) by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(C) in planning and administering that 

25 program, the State shall use the portion of the 


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1 amount described in subparagraph (A), that ex2 ceeds 10 percent of the funds described in sub3 paragraph (A), to expand the State program 

4 funded under section 2602(b) so that the State 

5 operates the program on a year-round basis; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(D) in planning and administering that 

8 program, the State— 

9 ‘‘(i) shall make technological changes 

10 to allow, not later than 5 years after the 

11 date of enactment of the Heating and 

12 Cooling Relief Act, for online submission of 

13 applications for assistance through that 

14 program; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) shall, to the extent practicable— 

16 ‘‘(I) conduct outreach activities, 

17 including activities to increase enroll18 ment as described in subsection (m); 

19 ‘‘(II) ensure that all HEAP coor20 dinators in the State receive wages, 

21 for administration funded under sec22 tion 2602(b), at not less than the 

23 greater of $15 per hour or the appli24 cable Federal, State, or local min25 imum wage rate; 


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1 ‘‘(III) conduct training; 

2 ‘‘(IV) as needed, conduct out3 reach relating to the program funded 

4 under section 2602(b) to rural electric 

5 cooperatives, home energy suppliers 

6 owned by a political subdivision of a 

7 State, such as a municipally owned 

8 electric utility, and home energy sup9 pliers owned by any agency, authority, 

10 corporation, or instrumentality of a 

11 political subdivision of a State; and 

12 ‘‘(V) explore opportunities for 

13 auto-enrollment of eligible households 

14 into the program funded under section 

15 2602(b), and in the process document 

16 any potential barriers to auto-enroll17 ment that need to be clarified or oth18 erwise addressed at the Federal 

19 level;’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (c)(1)— 

21 (A) in subparagraph (G), by striking 

22 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

23 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (H) as 

24 subparagraph (I); and 


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1 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (G) 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(H) describes how the State will expand 

4 the State program funded under section 

5 2602(b) so that the State operates the program 

6 on a year-round basis in accordance with sub7 section (b)(9)(C) and the measures the State 

8 has taken so far to carry out this expansion; 

9 and’’; and 

10 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(m) The Secretary shall allow, to the greatest extent 

12 possible, the self-attestation, and shall not require the 

13 proof, described in subsection (c)(1)(A)(i). 

14 ‘‘(n) The Secretary shall, by grant or contract, pro15 vide for a study that examines the rates of home energy 

16 shutoffs and assessments of late fees among eligible house17 holds, relative to those rates for households that are not 

18 eligible households, over a period of several years. 

19 ‘‘(o) The Secretary shall provide technical assistance 

20 to States to support partnerships described in subsection 

21 (b)(7)(H). 

22 ‘‘(p)(1) The Secretary, in consultation with the Sec23 retary of Education, shall issue guidance for use of funds 

24 for administrative activities described in subsection (b)(9) 

25 to increase, through partnerships with elementary schools, 


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1 secondary schools, and local educational agencies, enroll2 ment in the program carried out with funds made avail3 able under section 2602(b) among eligible households that 

4 include children and that have high energy burdens. 

5 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall issue guidance for use by 

6 States on outreach relating to assistance through the pro7 gram funded under section 2602(b) to high-risk individ8 uals, with relevant medical conditions, that benefit from 

9 the use of medical equipment that requires electricity, in10 cluding a ventilator, an oxygen concentrator, or another 

11 medical device.’’. 

12 SEC. 9. WEATHERIZATION. 

13 Section 2605(k) of the Low-Income Home Energy 

14 Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8624(k)) is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘15 percent’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘25 percent’’; and 

17 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

18 (A) in subparagraph (A), in the matter 

19 preceding clause (i)— 

20 (i) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (B)’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (C)’’; and 

22 (ii) by striking ‘‘the greater of 25 per23 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘a portion equal to the 

24 greater of 35 percent’’; 


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1 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 

2 subparagraph (C); and 

3 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(B) The State— 

6 ‘‘(i) shall, to the extent practicable— 

7 ‘‘(I) use the portion described in sub8 paragraph (A) for energy-related home re9 pair that reduces dependence on fossil fuel 

10 energy sources; and 

11 ‘‘(II) use the portion to facilitate the 

12 use of funds made available under section 

13 2602(b) to increase the participation of eli14 gible households in community solar pro15 grams, or to otherwise increase access to 

16 and ownership of distributed renewable en17 ergy infrastructure among eligible house18 holds; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) shall if possible give the highest pri20 ority to using the portion for home repair that 

21 replaces appliances that rely on fossil fuels with 

22 appliances that use electric heating or cooling 

23 technology, powered by renewable energy.’’. 


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1 SEC. 10. HOME ENERGY ARREARS. 

2 Section 2605 of the Low-Income Home Energy As3 sistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8624), as amended by 

4 section 8, is further amended by adding at the end the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(q)(1) In providing assistance through the program 

7 funded under section 2602(b), a State, or any other per8 son with which the State makes arrangements to carry 

9 out the objectives of this title, shall provide assistance (in 

10 addition to any other assistance available) for home energy 

11 arrears for any eligible household. 

12 ‘‘(2) Not later than 1 year after the date of enact13 ment of the Heating and Cooling Relief Act, the Secretary 

14 shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, issue 

15 guidance on best practices for States (including through 

16 partnerships with home energy suppliers) to pay for home 

17 energy arrears with assistance provided through the pro18 gram, including by paying for such arrears at the time 

19 of dissemination of that assistance. 

20 ‘‘(3) To the extent practicable, the Secretary and the 

21 Secretary of Energy, shall jointly— 

22 ‘‘(A) implement a data tracking system to col23 lect aggregate data regarding the number of eligible 

24 households in arrears and their respective energy 

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1 ordinators on how to minimize energy burdens for 

2 the households; and 

3 ‘‘(B) issue guidance to home energy suppliers 

4 with recommendations for working with State agen5 cies to address home energy arrears of eligible 

6 households.’’. 

7 SEC. 11. PROGRAM NAME CHANGE. 

8 (a) LIHEAP.—The Low-Income Home Energy As9 sistance Act of 1981 is amended— 

10 (1) in section 2607A(b) (42 U.S.C. 8626a(b)), 

11 by striking ‘‘low-income’’ the first place it appears; 

12 and 

13 (2) in section 2607B(e)(2)(B)(ii) (42 U.S.C. 

14 8626b(e)(2)(B)(ii)), by striking ‘‘Low-Income’’. 

15 (b) OTHER LAW.—A reference in any other Federal 

16 law (other than that Act), Executive order, rule, regula17 tion, or delegation of authority, or any document, of or 

18 relating to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Pro19 gram, shall be deemed to refer to the Home Energy As20 sistance Program. 

21 SEC. 12. JUST TRANSITION GRANTS. 

22 The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 

23 1981 is amended by inserting after section 2607B (42 

24 U.S.C. 8626b) the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 2607C. HEAP JUST TRANSITION GRANTS. 

2 ‘‘(a) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Secretary and the Sec3 retary of Energy shall jointly carry out a grant program 

4 under this section. In carrying out the program, the Secre5 taries shall make grants to States and local governments 

6 to support the development and implementation of inter7 agency plans to reduce energy burdens for eligible house8 holds with high home energy use. The plans shall promote 

9 the reduction of those burdens in a manner that supports 

10 a just transition away from fossil fuel energy and protects 

11 eligible households from the threats of climate change. 

12 The Secretaries shall make the grants for a period of 3 

13 years. 

14 ‘‘(b) PREFERENCES.—In making the grants, the Sec15 retary shall give a preference to States, and local govern16 ments, who set up coordination systems— 

17 ‘‘(1) to identify eligible households, that are re18 cipients of assistance through the program funded 

19 under section 2602(b), with high home energy use; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(2) prioritize those eligible households to re22 ceive emergency repair, weatherization, and retrofit 

23 assistance that results in decarbonization and reduc24 tions in energy use. 

25 ‘‘(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—At the conclusion of 

26 the 3-year grant period, the Secretaries shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) conduct an evaluation of the program’s 

2 outcomes; and 

3 ‘‘(2) prepare and submit to Congress a report 

4 containing the results of the evaluation and policy 

5 recommendations.’’. 

Æ 


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