Whereas the Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program has successfully met its goals to reduce energy bills and improve the health and safety of Americans with the lowest incomes during its four-decade history; Whereas the Weatherization Assistance Program supports about 8,500 jobs and provides weatherization assistance to approximately 35,000 homes annually; Whereas, since it began in 1976, the Weatherization Assistance Program has helped improve the lives and homes of more than 7,000,000 families through its weatherization assistance; Whereas the Weatherization Assistance Program develops effective techniques, tools, and professional training for the home retrofit industry; Whereas low-income families pay a disproportionate share, almost 14 percent, of their annual income on energy costs, the need for weatherization assistance is urgent; Whereas homes occupied by low-income families eligible for assistance under the Weatherization Assistance Program are predominantly energy inefficient and more likely to contain old appliances and equipment that do not meet contemporary safety or energy efficiency standards; Whereas rigorous evaluations by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory have demonstrated that average energy usage for households benefitting from weatherization assistance drops by more than 20 percent, and residents also experience improved health, including fewer hospital visits, in homes that have received assistance for upgrades under the Weatherization Assistance Program; Whereas community action agencies and their nonprofit partners and State administrators that support home weatherization services and retrofits for eligible households also effectively mobilize local, utility, and charitable funding to maximize Federal investments, increasing the reach and benefits of the Weatherization Assistance Program threefold