Reps. Trahan, McGovern lead effort to secure more LIHEAP funding
U.S. Reps. Lori Trahan (D-MA) and James McGovern (D-MA) are leading an effort to secure more funding for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
The Congress members are requesting the inclusion of $1.6 billion in funding for LIHEAP in any government funding package to reflect President Biden’s fiscal year 2024 FY24 emergency supplemental funding request.
“As you know, LIHEAP helps families who are at risk of being unable to afford to heat their homes in the winter or cool them in the summer. Last year, more than six million households across the country relied on critical assistance from the LIHEAP program,” the lawmakers wrote to House and Senate leaders. “For the families who receive LIHEAP, it is a critical lifeline that prevents them from making the impossible choice between staying warm and having enough food or paying for their medications.”
Along with Trahan and McGovern, the letter was signed by 112 other members of Congress.
In fiscal year 2023, the LIHEAP program distributed more than $4.5 billion in home heating assistance to families, including $100 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding and an additional $1 billion from the government funding package passed in September 2022. However, despite this federal investment, LIHEAP continues to be underfunded, as only 20 percent of eligible households currently receiving assistance through the program.
Both homeowners and renters are eligible for home heating assistance funds, which are distributed using state specific income thresholds. Trahan and McGovern’s state, Massachusetts, was awarded $130,453,598 in LIHEAP funding for this winter.
“As you work to finalize a supplemental funding package, please include robust funding for LIHEAP to help families stay warm and prevent drastic service and benefit cuts this winter,” the letter concluded.
