SPECIAL REPORT: Can LIHEAP Be Saved?
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program helped more than six million households pay for heating and cooling last year. Staffers for the federal program were fired in April. Industry groups and U. S. Senators are calling for reinstatement of the staffers and continuation of LIHEAP. Their efforts as of late April include: testimony by Mark Wolfe, Executive Director, National Energy Assistance Directors Association, before the House Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education and Related Agencies; a statement by 30 U. S. Senators calling for restoration of LIHEAP; and a letter that the Senators sent to Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The April 9 testimony by Wolfe, the April 11 statement by the Senators, and the April 11 letter to Secretary Kennedy are reprinted here.
Mark Wolfe, Executive Director, National Energy Assistance Directors Association, before the House Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education and Related Agencies in support of FY 2026 funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. NEADA represents the State Directors of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Wolfe’ s testimony has been edited slightly for clarity and length:
I appreciate the opportunity to submit testimony before the Subcommittee on the funding requirements for federal fiscal year 2026( FY26) appropriation for LIHEAP.
LIHEAP is currently in crisis. Last week, the Trump Administration eliminated the Division of Energy Assistance( DEA)— the office within the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services( HHS) that oversees LIHEAP— and fired the entire staff. There is $ 378 million in remaining FY 2025 funding that has not been released to states, and HHS has not released a plan for distributing the funds.
This gutting of federal support could not have come at a worse time for the households served by LIHEAP. One-outof-six families are currently behind on their home energy bills and the total amount these families owe their utilities is approximately $ 21 billion, the highest level since 2021 and up by about 30 percent since the end of 2023. In addition, 37.4 percent of families earning less than $ 50,000 a year reported in a recent Census survey that they were unable to pay an energy bill at least once in the past 12 months.
For FY26, we are requesting at least $ 4.1 billion for LIHEAP, the same level of total funding approved by Congress in FY25. This will send the message to the Trump Administration that it may not unilaterally eliminate programs that Congress has funded. $ 4.1 billion is the minimum amount LIHEAP needs to provide basic support for the families it serves.
However, as temperatures rise, there is an increased need in summer months to help families avoid the effects of extreme heat. The only way for LIHEAP to provide year-round assistance without cutting critical support for families in the winter is with additional funding. In order to keep up with rising energy costs, rising temperatures, and the increase in extreme weatherevents, LIHEAP needs $ 6 billion in FY26 funding plus $ 1 billion for the program’ s contingency fund, for a total of $ 7 billion. Contingency funding will allow the Administration to provide additional targeted resources for extreme weather events or volatility in energy prices.
BACKGROUND: ENERGY PRICES AND THEIR IMPACT ON LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS
Energy prices fall hardest on lower-income households. The average energy burden for low-income households is about 8.1 percent of income, almost three times the rate for nonlow-income households( 3.1 percent). Of even more concern, the most recent Census Household Pulse Survey, designed to estimate the economic impact of the pandemic on families, found that:
• The percentage of households that could not pay their energy bill for at least one month in the last year increased from 22.0 % to 23.4 %. The largest increase was in low- and moderateincome households, which increased from 35.5 % to 37.4 %.
• The percentage of households reporting that they kept their home at unsafe temperatures also increased during the 12-month period, from 22.2 % to 22.8 %. The largest increase with this metric was in households of color, from 26.1 % to 27.1 %.
• More than one out of three households( 34 %) reduced or forewent basic household expenses at least once during the previous 12 months to pay their home energy bills. The largest increase was in low- and moderate-income households, from 50.1 % to 51.0 %.
PRICE OF HOME ENERGY
The average cost of home heating increased by 8.7 % this winter, from $ 866 to $ 941. Due to higher prices, arrearages remain stubbornly high. NEADA estimates that more than one out of six households are behind on their energy bills, at 16 %( 21.5 million) of all U. S. households.
During calendar year 2024, the national arrearage balance increased from $ 18.6 billion in December 2023 to $ 20.4 billion in December 2024.
While the cost of winter heating is stabilizing back to prepandemic levels, cooling costs continue to increase as summer temperatures break national records. NEADA estimated that the cost of cooling last summer rose by 7.9 % to an average of $ 719, up from $ 661 during the summer of 2023. And according to NOAA, this summer is projected to be even hotter than last year. Extreme heat causes more deaths each year than any other weather event, including floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service. In Maricopa County, Arizona last year, the County reported 466 heat-related deaths, down from 645 in 2023.
16 MAY 2025 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www. fueloilnews. com