Legislators Hear Testimony About Weatherization

The House Committee on Urban Affairs and the House Select Committee on Federal Economic Stabilization Funding met March 30 in Dallas to hear testimony on the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs Weatherization Assistance Program.

The Recovery Act granted almost $327 milllion additional dollars to TDHCA to help Texans who make less than 200% of the federal povery level weatherize their homes. The funds flow to local agencies who then provide home repairs--such as replacing doors and windows, caulking, installing insulation, and replacing old appliances-- to increase energy efficiency. By weatherizing their homes, families can not only expect to save more than $400 per year on their utilities bill, but also do their part to help the environment.

At the hearing, legislators expressed concern about how the weatherization funds were being distributed. Michael Gerber, Executive Director of TDHCA testified that though the program was initially slow in getting off the ground, many problems with the Department of Energy had recently been resolved and the program was moving forward. At the end of December 2009, only 42 houses had been weatherized through the Recovery Act, but as of March 30, 2452 units had been completed and another 2200 were in progress. Though this doesn't meet the federal goal of 3100 houses by March 31st, it is a vast improvement over previous months.

The joint committee also heard invited testimony from several of the local agencies that receive grant money from TDHCA. They detailed their success and frustrations with the program, but were unanimous in their consent that TDHCA had been helpful in providing information and assistance when needed.

Morgan Hargrave from Texas Impact also offered testimony. He compared the State's approach to the strategies used in other states, many of which have weatherized more homes and instituted better reporting procedures.  He said that Texas could take a few simple steps to improve efficiency and accountability.

Other advocates giving testimony were Public Citizen's Andy Wilson, who urged the legislators to push for more transparency, and John Henneberger of the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service.

Another concern voiced during public testimony was about the lack of diversity among contractors hired to do weatherization work. A City of Dallas employee noted that not a single contractor hired with Recovery Act money was black. He was concerned that TDHCA and the recipient agencies were only contracting with vendors that they already knew, when one aim of the bill was to expand the circle wider.