Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) and Congressman James P. McGovern (MA-02) led 114 of their colleagues in requesting increased funding totaling $1.6 billion for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

“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. “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.”

In Fiscal Year 2023, the LIHEAP program distributed a total of more than $4.5 billion in home heating assistance to families across the United States, including $100 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding and an additional $1 billion from the government funding package passed in September 2022. Despite the significant federal investment, LIHEAP continues to be underfunded, with just 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, usually less than 150 percent of the federal poverty guideline or less than 60 percent of their state’s median income. To assist households seeking to determine their eligibility for LIHEAP funding, HHS recently released a tool in English, Spanish, traditional Chinese, and simplified Chinese for households to quickly determine their eligibility.

Massachusetts was recently awarded a total of $130,453,598 in LIHEAP funding for this winter, including $126,677,861 in formula funding and an additional $3,775,737 from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Today’s letter echoes a similar bipartisan effort earlier this year to increase funding for the home heating assistance program so it can help more families in need.

A copy of the letter sent today can be accessed HERE.

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