MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Thursday, December 26th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. Up next, WORLD commentator Cal Thomas on a bad Christmas tradition in Washington D.C.

CAL THOMAS: When Washington politicians speak of a Christmas tree this time of year, they are not referring to an actual tree. It means they’ve loaded up a bill with another kind of “green,” the kind that’s decorated with money.

The “bipartisan” bill passed just before midnight last Friday, minutes before a government “shutdown” would be an embarrassment to anyone but the politicians who voted for it. Like Christmas, this scenario gets played out almost every year with no regard for the growing debt.

The first bill was more than 1,500 pages. Elon Musk denounced it and suddenly it shrunk to over 100 pages, but that was too little for the big spenders. What passed last week at 118 pages may take days to digest, but you can be sure of one thing: pork is part of it. Always is.

For the last ten years, Republican Senator Rand Paul has published what he calls a “Festivus” report on just some of the wasteful spending in which our Congress is engaged. His latest – and you should Google it to see it all – includes the following:

Some of the highlights – or lowlights as I like to call them — include funding for the National Endowment for the Arts to subsidize ice-skating drag queens and promoting city park circuses. Additionally, the Department of the Interior invested in the construction of a new $12 million Las Vegas Pickleball complex. Interior also allocated $720,479 to wetland conservation projects for ducks in Mexico. This year, the Department of State is featured eleven times, with expenditures including $4.8 million on Ukrainian influencers, $32,596 on breakdancing, $2.1 million for Paraguayan Border Security (what about security at our border?), $3 Million for ‘Girl-Centered Climate Action’ in Brazil, and much more!

Hey, it’s not their money, it’s our money.

At least this time a pay raise for members didn’t make it to the final bill. Members should be having their pay cut, not raised, for under-performing.

Perhaps Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk can do something about the misspending that has led to the unsustainable $36 trillion dollar debt with interest of $1 trillion dollars just this year.

Others have tried and failed to break the spending habit. Maybe they will succeed this time, but the odds are not good. It’s not called “the swamp” for nothing.

I hope you had a Happy Christmas. Your politicians did.

I’m Cal Thomas.

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Sidwell Friends School and St. John’s College continue to headline the District of Columbia girls basketball Top 10 poll.

The undefeated Quakers (7-0 overall) are headed to California to participate in the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic in San Diego while St. John’s (10-0) will be home for Christmas after winning the St. Petersburg bracket at the Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational in Florida. 

The Cadets will host their Holiday Hoopla mixer, Dec. 30 and 31. 

Theodore Roosevelt debuts in this week’s poll at No. 10. 

Previous rank: 1

The Quakers will play at the SoCal Holiday Prep Classic in San Diego starting Thursday.

Previous rank: 2

The Cadets won the Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational championship in Florida.

Previous rank: 3

The Frogs, winners of three straight, next plays at the Christy Winters-Scott Invitational Dec. 31.

Previous rank: 4

The Colts will play Archbishop Carroll at the Title IX Classic Holiday Invitational in Maryland Friday.

Previous rank: 5

The Cubs will play at the Candy Cane Classic at Thomas Johnson (Md.) Friday and Saturday.

Previous rank: 6

The Ramblers will play at the Beltway 8 Holiday Classic in Houston starting Friday.

Previous rank: 7

The Bulldogs will play Charles H. Flowers (Md.) at the Title IX Classic Holiday Invitational in Maryland Friday. 

Previous rank: 8

The Tigers will play at the Candy Cane Classic at Thomas Johnson Friday and Saturday.

Previous rank: 9

The Penguins split with Anacostia and No. 6 Eastern. 

Previous rank: Not ranked.

The Roughriders will play KIPP School at the Title IX Classic Holiday Invitational in Maryland Friday.

Heat pumps are electric appliances that can both heat and cool your home.

Scientists see them as a climate solution because heat pumps reduce planet-heating emissions. They cut pollution from burning gas for heating, and reduce the use of gas infrastructure that leaks planet-heating methane gas.

And heat pumps are highly efficient, which means less electricity is needed to use them than traditional heating systems like fossil fuel furnaces and boilers. Researchers at the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory calculate that 62% to 95% of households would save money by switching to a heat pump. “ It’s an enormous amount of savings,” says Ari Matusiak, CEO of the nonprofit, Rewiring America. “That’s just a fact of the technology being superior.”

The Biden administration’s 2022 climate legislation introduced new federal tax incentives of up to $2,000 for heat pump equipment and installation costs. Many states as well as cities and utilities offer additional financial incentives.

So what money is available right now for a prospective heat pump buyer? And how might a second Trump administration and a Republican-controlled Congress impact this money?

Here are the answers to your heat pump and money questions.

Before we get to money, remind me, how do heat pumps work?

Heat pumps are “basically this magical two-in-one device,” Matusiak says.

For cooling, heat pumps work like air conditioners. They run on electricity and use refrigerants. For heating, heat pumps also use refrigerants. The refrigerants absorb bits of heat from outdoor air and bring them inside to warm up a home.

Some types of heat pumps are specifically designed for extra cold climates, and heat pump sales are booming in countries like Norway, Finland and Sweden.

What kind of money can I currently get from the federal government to buy a heat pump?

The U.S. federal government is currently offering up to $2,000 for homeowners buying heat pumps. The money comes in the form of a tax credit, which lowers your final tax bill, says Steven Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, a research organization working on saving energy.

Nadel notes not all heat pumps are eligible for the federal tax credit. The heat pump has to have a high efficiency rating from  the Consortium for Energy Efficiency, a nonprofit. Some manufacturer websites list tax credit-eligible equipment, as does the ENERGY STAR Product Finder. Nadel says to check the Department of Energy’s website to see which heat pumps qualify for federal tax credits.

James Tucker with an efficient heat pump for his home near Oakland, Calif.

Julia Simon/NPR

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What about states, cities, and my local utility? Can I get money from them?

Many homeowners can get additional money for heat pumps from their local utility, state, or city. Some states, cities and utilities have incentive programs they pay for themselves. There’s some additional money for states from the federal government and the 2022 national climate legislation.

Some states offer heat pump money as tax credits. Some money comes in the form of “point of sale” rebates. That means the money comes off the top of the price of equipment or installation. Utilities often offer post-purchase rebates.

Rewiring America and another nonprofit called The Switch is On have online tools that use people’s zip codes and income to search for which federal, state, local, and utility incentives consumers qualify for. Nadel encourages prospective buyers to check in with their local utility to see if it offers additional money.

I’m a renter and want to buy a heat pump. Can I get money too?

More than a third of Americans rent. While some renters are not in a position to, say, swap out their homeowner’s furnace, some renters with flexibility might be interested in a portable heat pump. Portable heat pumps can go into a window much like a window air conditioning unit and plug into the wall for power.

Matusiak says window heat pumps may soon be eligible for more of these rebate programs, so he encourages prospective buyers to also check out Rewiring America’s online tool.

What do the incoming Trump administration and a Republican-controlled Congress mean for current heat pump incentives?

Shuting Pomerleau, director of energy and environmental policy at the American Action Forum, a conservative think tank, is not optimistic about the future of federal heat pump money. “ Those incentives, whether they’re tax credits or, rebate programs are likely to go away under the upcoming Republican trifecta,” Pomerleau says.  

The incoming Republican-led congress will be looking for revenue to pay for tax cuts, says Diana Furchtgott-Roth, director of the center for energy, climate, and environment at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Washington. They will likely get rid of spending programs from Biden’s 2022 climate legislation, she says, including the tax credits for heat pumps.

The Trump transition team did not respond to NPR’s request for comment.

Pomerleau notes that while federal heat pump money is at risk of drying up, some states may choose to continue their incentive programs using other money.

Matusiak says that heat pump rebate programs have been popular in red and purple states as well as blue states. He notes that after the election, states including Texas, Nebraska, Louisiana, Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky and Ohio applied for federal money for their heat pump rebate programs.

A technician removes a gas water heater from a home in Washington, DC. Researchers see heat pumps as climate solutions because they often replace appliances that run on fossil fuels like gas. Heat pumps run on electricity that’s increasingly powered by renewable energy.

BASTIEN INZAURRALDE/AFP via Getty Images/AFP

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So if I’m thinking about getting a heat pump, does it make sense to get one sooner rather than later?

Nadel and Matusiak say before you rush out and buy a heat pump, think about what you already have in your home and how well it’s working.

“If you have a perfectly functioning furnace that you bought two years ago, you shouldn’t go get rid of it,” Matusiak says.

But if it starts to die, he says, then buy a heat pump.

Pomerleau says it may make sense to buy that heat pump sooner rather than later to be sure to access federal money. She thinks it will take Republicans some time to make changes to the tax code, but she suggests buying a new heat pump before the end of the 2025 calendar year to be more sure of qualifying for a federal tax credit.