Gillibrand calls for more LIHEAP funding as energy bills skyrocket

Alex Gault, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·2 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Sep. 26—Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand is calling for Congress to update the rules and funding package for the Low Income Heating and Energy Assistance Program, LIHEAP, as residents of upstate New York face an estimated 39% hike in their heating bills this winter.

"That translates to about $50 more per month compared to last year," Sen. Gillibrand said during a news conference Thursday.

Energy costs in New York are generally higher than other regions of the country, and the cold winters make it an especially heat-reliant state. As the war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russia continue, energy costs have increased worldwide.

In the face of ballooning energy costs, Sen. Gillibrand called on Congress to authorize more money to support LIHEAP, which is a first-come, first-served program that regularly runs out of funding each year.

"In a letter with Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and other members of Congress, I'm urging the Senate and House Appropriations Committee to provide emergency supplemental funding for LIHEAP," she said. "Additional funding to this vital program would allow more people to receive aid, and would help us progress toward the goal of New Yorker being forced to get through the winter without a safe source of heat and hot water."

Sen. Gillibrand has also called for more support of a bill she co-sponsors, the Heating and Cooling Relief Act. That bill would add $40 billion per year to LIHEAP, and expand eligibility in such a way that no American household would pay more than 3% of its annual income on energy costs.

It would also allow states to set their own eligibility shortcuts for LIHEAP, so that households that receive other federal benefits can be automatically provided the LIHEAP benefits they're entitled to as well. Eligibility for use to cover costs of cooling a home would also be expanded, and more funding for weatherization and resiliency investments on recipients homes would be made available.

"It's increasingly clear that more funds are required to meet the needs of low income New Yorkers this winter," she said.