Nearly three-quarters of Americans say they are very concerned about the price of energy and gasoline. The next Congress can respond by scaling up programs and embracing new proposals that would deliver immediate relief and lasting utility bill reductions.
Congress already has a program to provide bill assistance to qualifying lower-income families, but it’s under-resourced. Funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) has declined over the last decades after accounting for inflation, so most families who qualify don’t receive assistance.
The program has about $4 billion in annual funding today. In October, a group of U.S. representatives urged a $3 billion emergency supplement, which Congress should adopt.
A separate innovative bill would fund forgiveness of families’ outstanding utility bills. Utilities participating in the program would be required to cap the bills of lower-earning customers based on their incomes.
Weatherizing a home lowers residents’ energy costs year after year. The federal Weatherization Assistance Program pays for insulation, air sealing, and other upgrades in eligible low-income homes, cutting a family’s bills by an average of $372 annually. But with limited funding, the program reaches fewer than 100,000 households each year.
Congress should increase that funding and pass two bipartisan bills to prevent delays in getting the money out the door and to raise the per-home spending cap to keep pace with rising project costs.
Federally funded rebate programs help low- and moderate-income households make bill-saving improvements. They cover most or all of the cost of energy-saving projects, from whole-home efficiency improvements to installing a super-efficient heat pump water heater.
The U.S. Department of Energy required states (which administer the rebates) to resubmit their plans this year, and most states are waiting for approval and hope to launch programs next year.
The rebate programs that have been activated are popular. In West Virginia, which fully launched its program in September, the first participant reported that upgrades through the program dropped her electric bill by a third. Governor Patrick Morrisey praised the program’s impact: “That’s real money that stays in a family’s pocket and can go toward groceries, gas, prescriptions, or whatever else that family needs.” States that launched earlier show what comes next: demand outstrips funding. Some rebates have already been exhausted in California and Colorado.
Congress should therefore expand funding for the programs, taking advantage of the infrastructure states have already designed to get funds to eligible households.
Tax credits can help far more families make energy-saving improvements. Such credits have decades of bipartisan support but were terminated by Congress in 2025. The next Congress can restore, improve, or create several types of energy-saving incentives.
A credit encouraging homebuilders to build very efficient new homes had been highly successful. In 2024, more than one in five new homes were built to the credit’s efficiency levels, helping residents cut their energy bills by as much as $1,000 annually.
A separate set of incentives helped homeowners make upgrades like buying better windows or installing very efficient, variable-speed heat pumps that cut energy bills. Congress should reinstate these credits and make them refundable so even more households can use them.
Tax credits could also lower bills for residents of multifamily buildings. A recent concept proposal for commercial building energy tax credits would cover part of a building owner’s cost for efficiency improvements. It would allow direct pay of credits so that entities without tax liability, including nonprofit housing owners, could use them.
Affordability and energy costs were front and center in this election. The new Congress will be taking office just as families face rising winter heating bills. Lawmakers should seize the opportunity to deliver immediate relief and affordability improvements that are felt year after year.
ACEEE’s independent research and advocacy depend on the support of foundations, businesses, and individuals committed to cutting energy bills, waste, and climate pollution.