S.Amdt. 2959

SA 2959. Mr. HATCH submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 2953 proposed by Ms. Murkowski to the bill S. 2012, to
provide for the modernization of the energy policy of the United
States, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table;
as follows:

On page 69, between lines 21 and 22, insert the following:
(d) Weatherization Assistance Program for Low-Income
Persons.--Section 415 of the Energy Conservation and
Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6865) (as amended by subsection
(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(g) Administration.--
``(1) In general.--A State shall use up to 8 percent of any
grant made by the Secretary under this part to track
applicants for and recipients of weatherization assistance
under this part to determine the impact of the assistance and
eliminate or reduce reliance on the low-income home energy
assistance program established under the Low-Income Home
Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621 et seq.), over
a period of not more than 3 years.
``(2) Use of savings.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, of any savings obtained by the Secretary of Health
and Human Services due to eliminated or reduced reliance on
the low-income home energy assistance program established
under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42
U.S.C. 8621 et seq.) as a result of the weatherization
assistance provided under this part, as determined under
paragraph (1)--
``(A) 50 percent shall be transferred to the Secretary to
provide assistance to States under this part, to be
reallocated to the States pro rata based on the savings
realized by each State under this part; and
``(B) 50 percent shall be deposited into the general fund
of the Treasury for purposes of reducing the annual Federal
budget deficit.
``(3) Annual state plans.--A State may submit to the
Secretary for approval within 90 days an annual plan for the
administration of assistance under this part in the State
that includes, at the option of the State--
``(A) local income eligibility standards for the assistance
that are not based on the formula that are used to allocate
assistance under this part; and
``(B) the establishment of revolving loan funds for
multifamily affordable housing units.
``(4) Evaluation.--Of amounts appropriated for headquarters
training and technical assistance for the Weatherization
Assistance Program each fiscal year, the Secretary shall use
not more than 25 percent--
``(A) to carry out a 3-year evaluation of the plans
submitted under paragraph (3); and
``(B) to disseminate to each State weatherization program a
report describing the results of the evaluation.
``(5) Report to congress.--As soon as practicable, the
Secretary shall submit to Congress a report describing the
training and technical assistance efforts of the Department
to assist States in carrying out paragraph (1).''.
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