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Ali Zaidi is the President’s Senior Advisor on National Climate Policy

To say that Wisconsin’s winter is cold is like saying that the sun rises from the east—this is an established fact. But the fact is that the cost of energy bills is not paid, which is the reason why projects such as the US Department of Energy's climate assistance program exist.

According to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the program started in 1976 and has helped more than 7 million households. The plan aims to improve household energy efficiency by sealing windows and doors, installing insulating materials, replacing/repairing water heaters, etc.

On Wednesday, December 15, the Department of Energy announced a $18 million funding opportunity that will help state, local, and tribal governments strengthen their anti-weathering assistance programs. The announcement is part of President Joe's Biden plan to reduce utility costs for low-income households.

Ali Zaidi is the President's Senior Advisor on National Climate Policy. He told the Milwaukee Courier about the government's goal of restarting the anti-weathering program.

"When you look at energy costs, an important realization is that in the past few decades, they have been a real challenge for low-income communities, especially communities of color," Zaidi said.

Zaidi said that the weather-based assistance program is effective and cannot be outsourced. The president's goal is to make it bigger and bolder. Zaidi said the idea was submitted to Congress, where it received bipartisan support and funds to invest in climate change work.

With funding, the program will be able to improve its operations, expand its reach and make it more accessible to Americans in need. The White House is working with labor unions, trade schools, and technical colleges to train workers and create a diverse workforce.

"We are excited about the improvement of the plan, and this improvement will be amplified in the $3.5 trillion that the president has obtained through cooperation with people on both sides of the aisle," he said.

US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm (Jennifer Granholm) expressed her excitement on Twitter.

"Today, I am happy to announce that we will allocate more than $18 million from the @POTUS bipartisan infrastructure bill to expand and strengthen our weather protection assistance program-reducing energy bills to American households. Pressure," Granholm wrote.

Zaidi pointed out that the ever-changing climate threatens the reliability and resilience of the country's power grid. Biden's "Rebuild Better Plan" aims to invest in projects such as substations, carrying power lines, and power grid modernization.

"We see climate pressure on the energy system," Zaidi said. "It generates tens of billions of dollars in costs, which are absorbed by our economy and consumers. Addressing the climate crisis head-on is the solution to this problem, and part of the solution must be invested in these elastic improvements."

Popular interests in this article: Ali Zaidi, Ana Martinez-Ortiz, Weatherization, Weatherization Assistance Program

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