Upstate House

Pushing Back Against Regressive Federal Energy Policy

By Jeff Eckes  |  Fall 2025   |  Home Improvement

As we watch the slow-motion train wreck that is our federal government now and see the hard-won bipartisan funding for everything from heat pumps, EVs, solar farms, and high-performance housing (or any housing) get zeroed out in the Big Bad Budget Bill, we must ask ourselves: What now? What can we, each of us do, to keep these things alive until this anti-science/anti-environment fever can be broken? These technologies are the future, even MAGA business owners believe that and depend on this funding, and as egregious as defunding Medicaid/Medicare and public health of all kinds is, it’s worth focusing on these long-term solutions for the climate problems we all hold in common. Without them our grandchildren might not have an Earth that resembles what we have now.

What I am Doing

I’m building high-performance/low-energy homes, as usual, but more importantly I’m teaching how to build these homes. I’m teaching our team members—all LDR employees are offered the opportunity to certify as Certified Passive House Tradesperson in their first year—I’m teaching my clients and potential clients about Passive House, as well as spinning my podcast back up to inform the general public about it. I am also planning to use my limited platform to meet with and lobby lawmakers in New York to address these issues with legislation and funding.

What is New York Doing?

NYSERDA hasn’t announced anything that I know of, but they did give me a boilerplate response to my queries.

“NYSERDA is still reviewing the Federal Reconciliation Bill and its impacts, but the new law puts thousands of jobs at risk and could cut billions in funding and impact overall market momentum. This law undermines New York State’s demonstrated leadership in advancing clean energy technologies as a part of an all-of-the-above energy strategy including investments in wind, solar, hydroelectric, and nuclear power to create a clean, affordable, and reliable energy grid.”

The good news in that New York state takes this federal funding as a “block grant” when it is legislated, that is then administered by NYSERDA, which means we are in better shape than some states, and that much of the funding for heat pumps, electrification, and energy efficiency are already in the New York state coffers and will continue until that money runs out. I can’t, however, imagine that any reader found the above statement from NYSERDA any more satisfying than I did. I could not get any more info before my publishing deadline, but I will dig into these questions, call my state senator and representative, and publish the details in the next issue of Upstate House.

What Can You Do?

Anything. Everything. Something! First: Action, of any kind, tends to feel good, and we all need to feel better wherever we can today. Second: Even small efforts, taken cumulatively, make a huge impact overall. You may only know one thing, or few people, but if we remember that we can influence those that our lives touch, and are always spreading the word about the facts, we can give ourselves the resolve we need to continue. Also, never underestimate the power you have over our elected representatives. Enter your address at Commoncause.org/find-your-representative and you will get a complete listing of all of your representatives for federal, state, and county positions. Call them. A little-known secret in politics is that calls are the only thing politicians really pay attention to. Petitions, emails and letters are counted and logged, but elected representatives, almost without exception, get a call log each week, and it delineates what subject people called about, and what they thought about it. I keep this list of my representatives in my phone, along with notes on where I stand on issues, then use drive time and time spent waiting to call and state my position. Call often, tell them how important these issues (and other issues you care about!) are, and that you are aware of their position, and will vote to support those that address these issues, and get your friends and family to do the same! If these politicians do not hear from us, they will do what the powerful and connected want them to, not what we want them to! Make sure you don’t ignore the state and county elected officials either, they often have more impact on your day-to-day life than a federal official does.

Lastly, as you work to maintain and improve your home, do the research to do it correctly. These resources are readily available to anyone. Begin small, read my articles in this publication to start, then follow the links and breadcrumbs in those resources to branch out and ask more questions. Anyone that’s serious about building science will readily and happily answer your questions, and lead you to further resources as needed.

If we all keep up the good fight, keep getting into “good trouble,” and don’t give up, we will find ourselves on the other side of this frightening time in our history, with the knowledge and preparation we need to shift back into high gear and reopen all of these programs that have been decimated without thought or understanding by this current federal administration. 

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