First-term Rep. Josh Riley is introducing his first bill in Congress, Spectrum News 1 has learned. The focus: lowering energy bills for low-income households.

The legislation, which Riley, a Democrat representing New York's 19th Congressional District, is rolling out with a bipartisan group of co-sponsors, would modify the Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program, a nearly five-decade-old program that helps individuals retrofit their homes to make them more energy efficient. Upgrades can include improving insulation and moisture control.

The bill calls for increasing the cap on how much assistance each home can receive, in an effort to compensate for the increased cost of building materials. It also seeks to remove barriers that restrict more households from participating - namely, that their homes are in poor condition - by helping them fix structural, electrical, and other problems.

Reps. Paul Tonko, an Albany-area Democrat, and Mike Lawler, a Republican from suburban Rockland County, are both signed on. Tonko helped lead similar legislation last Congress.

In a statement, Riley said, “This bipartisan bill helps families make home improvements to save on utilities while creating good-paying union jobs.”

Riley’s office says that, on average, households that make the weatherization upgrades save $372 a year on their energy bills.

The rollout comes as several energy companies in the New York region have signaled they are looking to increase utility rates.

“The big utility companies don’t deserve another break, but working families do, and I’m fighting every day to deliver,” Riley said in the statement.