Advocacy
FY2027 Appropriations Are Underway. Our Industry Needs to Be Heard Again.
Thanks to our advocacy, we secured increased funding for home performance in Fiscal Year 2026. Now, Congress has begun its annual appropriations process for Fiscal Year 2027. Funding for several key federal programs that support our industry—including the Residential Buildings Integration Program (RBI), Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), and State Energy Program (SEP)—are under discussion. YOUR support can help to ensure these programs…
Read MoreDefend State Contractor Training Grants and Home Energy Rebates
Update: House Passes H.R. 4758 Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 210–199–1 to pass the Homeowner Energy Freedom Act (H.R. 4758). The bill would repeal funding for: If enacted, the legislation would eliminate unspent funding for these programs, impacting energy affordability for households and reducing workforce development and project opportunities for contractors. To become…
Read MoreFY26 Appropriations Update: Funding Increase for LIHEAP
On February 3, President Trump signed the Fiscal Year 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS) bill, as part of a minibus package, into law. This package includes $4.045B for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which provides assistance to eligible low-income households with the goal of managing and meeting their immediate home…
Read MoreFY26 Appropriations Update: Funding Increases Finalized for Key Energy Efficiency Programs
On January 23, President Trump signed H.R. 6938—the Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations package containing annual funding for several Federal agencies, including the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—into law. Thanks to BPA’s advocacy and collaboration with other stakeholders, the package maintains or increases funding for several core programs that support energy…
Read MoreHouse Energy & Commerce Committee Unanimously Advances Bipartisan Weatherization Reauthorization Legislation
The bill would extend authorization of the Weatherization Assistance Program through 2030, reducing energy bills and supporting contractor jobs Today, the full House Energy & Commerce Committee unanimously advanced bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) through 2030 in a 50-0 vote. The legislation would also nearly double the statutory Average Cost Per…
Read MoreWAP Reauthorization Legislation Gains Traction in Congress
This summer, a bipartisan group of Senators took an important first step towards reauthorizing the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). On July 31, Senators Chris Coons (D-DE), Susan Collins (R-ME), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Jack Reed (D-RI) introduced the bipartisan Energy Savings and Weatherization Reauthorization Act of 2025 (S. 2570). This bill, in combination with the…
Read MoreJoin BPA’s Action List to Protect Energy Efficiency Incentives
The Building Performance Association (BPA) asks you to join our Action List to defend incentives for energy efficiency workforce development, home energy rebates, and the 25C tax incentive. It is crucial that we demonstrate these programs have broad support in our industry. If you would like to be added to our Action List for early…
Read MoreBPA’s Chief Policy Officer Testifies Before Congress on Benefits of Energy Efficiency
On Tuesday, September 9, 2025, BPA’s Chief Policy Officer, Kara Saul Rinaldi, testified before Congress at a hearing titled “Building the American Dream: Examining Affordability, Choice, and Security in Appliance and Buildings Policies.” The purpose of the hearing was to discuss the impact of appliance and building regulations on affordability, consumer choice, and grid reliability.…
Read MoreResidential Energy Efficiency Retrofit Projects That Create Jobs: Insights from the Buildings Upgrade Prize
The Building Performance Association has published a white paper that explores early findings from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Buildings Upgrade Prize, a competitive program designed to support innovative, high-performance building retrofits. It highlights common strategies from awardees in the planning and pilot phases, including workforce training, resident education, local outreach, removing upgrade barriers, and…
Read MoreWhat the Senate’s Elimination of 25C Means for Energy Efficiency
This afternoon, the U.S. Senate passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA) by a 51-50 vote. The bill eliminates the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Tax Credit (25C) at the end of this year—a deeply disappointing outcome for our industry. It also ends the 45L New Energy Efficient Home credit after June 2026 and rescinds…
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