MALDEN, MA – Today, Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark (D-MA-5), Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), and Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-MA-3) hosted U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm for a tour of the home of Cindy Yu, a Malden resident whose home was recently weatherized with efficiency upgrades by Community Action Programs Inter-City, Inc. (CAPIC). The Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act invests a historic $3.5 billion in the Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), reducing energy costs for more than 700,000 low-income households by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes, while ensuring health and safety and creating jobs. 

“Cindy’s story highlights the core purpose of the Infrastructure Investments & Jobs Act: investing directly in American families to lower costs and build a stronger, more sustainable future. The Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act is the game changer we’ve been waiting for,” said Assistant Speaker Clark. “With this new law, families, especially low-income families, will increase their energy efficiency and save money through reduced energy bills while collectively strengthening our climate resiliency as a nation. I’m grateful to Secretary Granholm and my Massachusetts colleagues for coming to Malden to highlight the importance of this critical program to our economic recovery and our future.”

Across the U.S., two-thirds of low-income households devote over 6% of their income to utility bills alone and only 2% of the 38 million eligible low-income homes in the U.S. are weatherized each year. The weatherization investments in the infrastructure law will:

  • save single-family homes an average of $283 per year in reduced energy costs
  • lead to an annual reduction of 2.2 million metric tons of carbon
  • improve the health and safety of home dwellers by eliminating non-energy related hazards like mold or fire hazards, resulting in non-energy savings of over $1,000 in out-of-pocket medical expenses and missed work days
  • create or help retain ~8.5K jobs each year, a key element of the Build Back Better Agenda

In total, the infrastructure law provides more than $62 billion for the Department of Energy to deliver a more equitable clean energy future for the American people.

Photos of today’s event can be found HERE.

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