Castor, Tonko Introduce Legislation To Electrify Households, Create Jobs & Lower Energy Bills

WASHINGTON - On Friday, Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL), Chair of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, and Rep. Paul D. Tonko (D-NY), Chair of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change, introduced the Zero-Emission Homes Act, a bill that would provide rebates for the purchase and installation of electric appliances and equipment in single-family homes and multifamily buildings, with additional support for low- and moderate- income households.

"All Americans deserve to live in homes that are good for their health, their pocketbooks, and the environment," said Castor. "This bill will help millions of families switch to cleaner electric appliances and save money on their utility bills, while also putting Americans to work in every hometown across the country. Additionally, it will help us solve the climate crisis, make progress reducing pollution, and target cost-savings to our neighbors who really need it."

"Decarbonizing our homes is one of the key challenges we will face in confronting the climate crisis," said Tonko. "But building electrification also offers untapped opportunities to improve energy efficiency, spur innovation and provide homeowners with cleaner alternatives. I’m proud to join Congresswoman Castor in the House to push forward the Zero-Emission Homes Act that will help our nation address the growing threat of climate change. I urge all of Congress to support this strong legislation."

Electrification of household appliances would help millions of families save money on their energy bills every month, while creating over a million new jobs in manufacturing, installing, and servicing these new electric appliances. These jobs would have the potential to pay family-sustaining wages, with installation/servicing jobs distributed across every county in America.

The Zero-Emission Homes Act would:

• Make electrification easier and more affordable for all Americans to meet our climate targets.
• Define products and projects associated with household electrification as "qualified electrification projects" or "QEPs."
• Establish a Zero-Emission Homes Program that provides households with rebates for the purchase and installation of QEPs. The federal zero-emission home program would provide up to $10,000 in immediate price relief for the purchase and installation of select QEPs with additional amounts for low-and-moderate income (LMI) households and multifamily buildings.

In most instances, clean appliances perform as well, if not better, than their fossil-fuel counterparts, while also helping avoid the harmful health effects increasingly associated with the burning of fossil fuels in homes, including childhood asthma.
 

In the U.S. House of Representatives, the Zero-Emission Homes Act is cosponsored by Reps. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Mike Levin (D-CA), Donald McEachin (D-VA), and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE).
 

In the U.S. Senate, the companion bill is led by Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and cosponsored by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM).
 

A fact sheet is available here. Read the full bill text here.