1.5 Million New Yorkers Rely On The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) To Heat Their Homes
Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) held a virtual press conference to demand that the Trump administration immediately release federal LIHEAP funding, which helps low-income New Yorkers heat their homes through the state’s Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP).
“As energy prices rise and temperatures drop, the Trump administration is leaving New Yorkers out in the cold by refusing to release LIHEAP funding,” said Senator Gillibrand. “We’ve seen the consequences of cold before—from fires caused by space heaters to winter storms endangering the lives of people trapped in unheated homes. We can’t let New Yorkers suffer in the cold. The Trump administration must immediately follow the law and release LIHEAP funding so that New Yorkers can stay warm without breaking the bank.”
LIHEAP helps over a million low-income households across the state afford their energy bills and make cost-effective repairs to their heating systems. The program is administered by the state but funded by the federal government. States and tribes typically receive their LIHEAP allocations from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) by early November, but funding was put on hold during the Republican government shutdown. The funding bill that ended the government shutdown included the same level of funding for LIHEAP as last year. However, the Trump administration still has not released the $4 billion in federal funding that has been allocated for the program, delaying New York’s ability to open applications and begin distributing the funds.
Gillibrand is leading a bipartisan push to demand that the administration release these funds without delay. Alongside Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Jack Reed (D-RI), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), she sent a letter outlining this demand to the administration last week. The full letter text can be found here.
Gillibrand has been a longstanding advocate for LIHEAP. Every year, she helps secure hundreds of millions in funding for New York’s program. She also cosponsors legislation to expand LIHEAP and ensure that no household pays more than three percent of its annual income on energy costs. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Gillibrand also joined successful bipartisan efforts to save and fund the program after the Trump administration proposed eliminating LIHEAP in its Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) budget request.
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