The U.S. House signed off yesterday on a Fort Worth-led push to scrap key pieces of the Inflation Reduction Act tied to home electrification and building codes, in a move supporters say could make it easier to put gas stoves and conventional water heaters into new homes and cut tens of thousands off list prices.
The proposal, the Homeowner Energy Freedom Act, is authored by Fort Worth Republican Rep. Craig Goldman and now heads to the Senate. It has already set off a familiar Washington fight over who really benefits: first-time buyers looking for a cheaper house, or low-income families relying on federal help to cut their utility bills.
What the bill would change
According to Congress.gov, the bill would repeal Sections 50122, 50123 and 50131 of Public Law 117–169. Those sections created the High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Program, state-based contractor training grants, and federal assistance to help states and cities adopt updated building energy codes.
The measure would also pull back any unobligated money for those programs. In practice, that would shut down federal rebates and grants that have been used to subsidize electric appliances and to support adoption of newer energy codes at the state and local level.
Backers say it will lower prices
Goldman celebrated the House vote and argued that the bill could reduce the costs of new homes by up to $31,000 while urging the Senate to move quickly, according to Goldman's Office.
The National Association of Home Builders backed the bill and pointed to research showing that meeting the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code can add more than $20,000 to the price of a new home. Builders have estimated increases as high as $31,000, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Supporters say undoing these programs will help keep new homes cheaper and leave building rules up to local officials rather than federal incentives.
Critics say it removes help for low-income households
Opponents, including House Democrats and energy advocates, counter that the bill would erase targeted rebates and code-adoption aid designed for low- and middle-income households, potentially leaving families with higher energy costs over time.
In floor debate and committee material, supporters of the existing programs stressed that the rebate initiative was intended to help lower-income households afford electrification upgrades and was pitched as saving participating families thousands of dollars. Those arguments are laid out in debate text and committee documents posted on Congress.gov.
Local angle and who backed it
The House approved the measure 210–199, according to the official roll call from the Clerk of the House.
The bill was introduced by Goldman and co-sponsored by Reps. Jake Ellzey and Dan Crenshaw, per LegiScan. Local reporting has already started gaming out what the proposal could mean for buyers in North Texas. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram covered the vote and highlighted the claim that the change could cut as much as $31,000 from the price of a new home.
What comes next
A companion bill is already sitting in the Senate, introduced by Sen. Tim Sheehy and still awaiting action, according to Sheehy's Office.
For the House repeal to stick, the Senate would have to sign on and the president would have to agree, setting up a broader political fight over housing affordability, energy policy and how far Washington should go in nudging states toward tighter building codes.
In North Texas, that debate lands right in the mix of framing lumber costs, mortgage rates and buyers trying to squeeze into a starter home. Over the next few weeks, watch for local builders, housing groups and energy advocates to lean hard into their numbers as the Senate decides whether to pick up Goldman's bill.
