Press Releases

LOWELL, MA – Yesterday, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) led 15 House members in writing to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requesting the immediate release of Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding to help families heat their homes in the coming weeks.

“As you well know, LIHEAP helps households unable to afford to heat their homes in the winter and cool their homes in the summer, providing assistance to at-risk seniors and families. In Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23), more than five million households across the country relied on critical heating assistance from the LIHEAP program,” the lawmakers wrote. “For LIHEAP recipients, this funding is a lifeline, helping prevent them from having to make an impossible choice between staying warm and putting food on the table or affording their medications.”

In Fiscal Year 2024, the LIHEAP program distributed a total of more than $4 billion in home heating and energy assistance to millions of families across the United States, including $143,775,713 in funding for Massachusetts households. 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.

“With the winter months rapidly approaching, releasing the highest amount of funding from the recent government funding package is critically needed to address the growing number of households unable to pay their energy bills,” the lawmakers continued.

To assist households seeking to determine their eligibility for LIHEAP funding, HHS offers a tool in English, Spanish, traditional Chinese, and simplified Chinese for households to quickly check their eligibility. In Massachusetts, LIHEAP eligibility is determined by 60 percent of the estimated state median income, and household estimates for this year include:

• One-person household: $49,196
• Two-person household: $64,333
• Three-person household: $79,470
• Four-person household: $94,608

While federal investments in LIHEAP were increased by passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the program continues to be underfunded, with just one in five eligible households currently receiving assistance. Last year, Trahan and Congressman James P. McGovern led 114 of their colleagues in requesting increased LIHEAP funding totaling $1.6 billion to meet the true need for aid.

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

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