Jonathan and Veronica Berry knew when they bought an 1890 farmhouse on the Eastern Shore of Maryland that it would be a fixer-upper. It needed new insulation for the floors and attic, a wood stove and heat pump, and better plumbing and electricity systems. The only problem was the Berrys couldn't afford to make the improvements. He was just getting his painting business off the ground, and she was a stay-at-home mom with their two young children.
If it wasn’t for the $5,000 in weatherization improvements they received from a Department of Energy (DOE) grant program – the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) – Ms. Berry admits they might never have gotten around to it.
“It would have just been a constant thing on our household to-do list,” she says. “This, for us, is just phenomenal, as parents and as homeowners.” Not only are they more comfortable in their home, she says, but they also have reduced their energy usage, contributing to a greener Earth for their children.
But the program, which has served more than 7 million low-income households since it was started in 1976, could end in October. Funding for the program, as well as for the rest of the DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, is not included in President Trump's budget proposal for the next fiscal year.
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http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2017/0512/Weatherization-Assistance-Program-Job-creator-or-government-excess
