Weatherization Program Achieves only 10% of Goal

The Vice President Spends His Day Touting A Stimulus Program That Has Delivered Roughly 10% Of What He Promised

“DRIVING THE V.P.’S DAY, Per The White House: ‘Vice President Biden Will Visit The Home Of A Manchester, NH Family Where He’ll Announce A Major Recovery Act Milestone – The Weatherizing Of 200,000 Homes Under The Recovery Act.’” (Politico’s “Playbook,” 8/26/10)

THE ORIGINAL SALEPRESIDENT OBAMA: “ >We Also Have Put In Money [In The Stimulus] That Provide [sic] For The Weatherization Of Millions Of Homes Across The Country.” (President Obama, Remarks, Elkhart, IN, 2/9/09)

VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: “We Have A Weatherization Program In This Project [The Stimulus]. We're Going To Weatherize 2 Million Homes.” (VP Biden, Remarks, 2/11/09)

Non-Partisan Government Accountability Office Says Weatherization Project Slowed By Union Requirements And Burdensome Government RegulationsDavis–Bacon Requirements: “Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program became subject to the Davis-Bacon requirements for the first time after having been previously exempt from those requirements… States used only a small percentage of their available funds in 2009, mostly because state and local agencies needed time to develop the infrastructures required for managing the significant increase in weatherization funding and for ensuring compliance with Recovery Act requirements, including Davis-Bacon requirements.” (“Recovery Act: Project Selection And Starts Are Influenced By Certain Federal Requirements And Other Factors,” GAO, P.16, 2/10)

National Historic Preservation Trust: “…officials from the Michigan Department of Human Services told us that the NHPA requires that weatherization projects receiving federal funds undergo a state historic preservation review. According to Michigan officials, this requirement means that the state historic preservation office may review every home over 50 years of age if any work is to be conducted, regardless of whether the home is in a historic district or on a national registry. State officials told us that an estimated 90 percent of the homes to be weatherized would need a historic review. These reviews are a departure from Michigan’s previous experience…” (“Recovery Act: Project Selection And Starts Are Influenced By Certain Federal Requirements And Other Factors,” GAO, P.18, 2/10)

Regulations Overwhelm Localities: “In addition, as we reported in December 2009, smaller localities, which are often rural, told us that they faced challenges because of a lack of staff to understand, apply for, and comply with requirements for federal Recovery Act grants… In the District of Columbia, moreover, Department of the Environment officials explained that weatherization funds had not been spent as quickly as anticipated because officials needed to develop the infrastructure to administer the program. For example, the department needed to hire six new staff members to oversee and manage the program. Officials reported that, as of late January 2010, the department had still not hired any of the six new staff required. However, the job posting was closed, and Department of the Environment officials expected Recovery Act-funded weatherization work to begin in early February 2010.” (“Recovery Act: Project Selection And Starts Are Influenced By Certain Federal Requirements And Other Factors,” GAO, P.23, 2/10)

---

Tags: weatherization program, government, Joe Biden, unions, Davis Bacon wages, regulations To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!