As a $15 billion in federal stimulus programs to weatherize low income homes falter, the House, led by its Democratic majority, passed a $5.7 billion program that would extend weatherizing benefits to the middle class.

Republicans added to the Home Star Energy Bill a requirement that the bill not add to the federal deficit, forcing proponents to figure out a way to pay for it.

"Home Star is that solid investment that's going to achieve that hat trick of energy savings for the homeowner, of moving toward a cleaner environment and of creating jobs here at home," bill sponsor Peter Welch, D-Vt. told the Associated Press.

"This is not a terribly bad bill, but it has one fatal flaw: It is not paid for," said Rep. Joe Barton of [Ennis] Texas, top Republican on the energy committee. Democrats argued that the issue of paying for the legislation will come later in the budgetary process, when Congress approves annual spending bills.

Supporters of the so-called Cash for Caulkers bill, according to the AP story, said they believed 3 million homeowners would take advantage of rebates for energy efficiency improvements that will save more than $9 billion in energy bills over 10 years and create 168,000 jobs. However, opponents made repeated references to the problems the Department of Energy was having administering the Weatherization Assistance Program passed in February of 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Weatherization in Texas and nationally is well behind some other ARRA programs. Money has not been made available by the Energy Department, and state and local agencies have been overwhelmed by the scale of the program and its required documentation.

"Even though the 'stimulus' last year included $15 billion for weatherization - which is largely unspent - they decided to add another $6.6 billion for caulk to our deficit, at time when the American people are already scared to death by Washington Democrats' out-of-control spending spree," House Republican leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a statement he issued after the vote.

Contact Mark Lisheron at 512-299-2318 or mark@texaswatchdog.org. Search keyword stimulus at www.texaswatchdog.org to find reporting by Mark and others on the federal stimulus and how it is playing out in Texas.