Congress approves $6B LIHEAP funding as part of government funding bill

A $1.7 trillion government funding package approved by Congress last week includes a record $6 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to help families afford the high cost of heating this winter.

The National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), which represents state directors that administer LIHEAP, praised Congress for the additional funds to help address rising home energy prices across all major fuel sources.

“Home heating prices are now the highest they’ve been in more than 10 years,” Mark Wolfe, executive director of NEADA, said. “The additional funds provided by the omnibus spending bill, under the bipartisan leadership of Senators Reed and Collins, will help millions of families pay their home energy bills and stay connected to vital utility services.”

U.S. Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Susan Collins (R-ME) have led efforts to include funding for LIHEAP in the fiscal year 2023 appropriations package.

LIHEAP helps more than 6 million low-income families pay for the cost of heating in the winter and cooling in the summer, but funding is typically only sufficient to help one out of six eligible households, NEADA said.

“Many states are reporting rising applications for energy assistance, and these funds will allow us to move quickly to help these families,” NEADA Chair Barbara Klug said.

On average, the cost of home heating this winter will be about 18 percent more than last year and 34 percent more than two years ago. For families using heating oil, prices are expected to rise by about 44 percent from last year and 144 percent from two years ago, according to NEADA.