A proposal to eliminate a key federal heating assistance program would have left millions of low-income families and seniors struggling to keep their homes warm during winter and cool during summer.
The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, known as LIHEAP, helps households pay heating and cooling bills, prevent utility shutoffs, restore disconnected service, and cover minor energy-related repairs. For many vulnerable residents, especially older adults, people with disabilities, and families with young children, the program can be the difference between a safe home and dangerous living conditions.
The threat emerged after the administration fired staff who worked on LIHEAP and proposed a federal budget that zeroed out all funding for the program. If approved, the move would have ended federal support nationwide, despite LIHEAP’s long history of bipartisan backing.
In New York alone, nearly 1.7 million households relied on LIHEAP last year, receiving more than $375 million in assistance. Large numbers of families in Erie, Monroe, Onondaga, Oneida, and other counties used the program to manage rising energy costs during extreme weather.
Advocates warned that eliminating LIHEAP would hit colder regions especially hard, where winter heating bills can overwhelm fixed or low incomes. Without assistance, households would face higher risks of shutoffs, unsafe indoor temperatures, and emergency health situations.
The concern extended beyond winter. LIHEAP also helps families afford summer cooling, an increasingly critical need as heat waves become more frequent and severe.
Congress ultimately rejected the proposed elimination. The Fiscal Year 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education funding bill preserved LIHEAP and increased its funding to more than $4 billion, a $20 million boost over the previous year.
Supporters said the outcome underscored the program’s importance as energy costs remain high and extreme weather continues to strain household budgets. They also warned that future attempts to eliminate LIHEAP would again put millions of Americans at risk.
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