Bipartisan Senate Leaders Urge Reversal of Course on LIHEAP Staffing Cuts
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Jack Reed (D-RI), Susan Collins (R-ME), and ten of their Senate colleagues who are LIHEAP champions sent a letter urging the Trump Administration to reverse course on the recent reported elimination of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) staff at HHS.
The letter comes in response to the reduction of about 10,000 employees from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). These cuts reportedly include the entire staff running the $4.1 billion LIHEAP program, which helps millions of American households afford their heating and cooling bills.
The thirteen Senators sent a bipartisan letter to HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr., writing:
“We are concerned that the reported staff terminations will undermine the HHS’s ability to deliver this critical funding to low-income seniors and families. We are also concerned that the local community action agencies that help enroll qualified beneficiaries could be weakened by other actions and funding cuts being undertaken by HHS and the ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ (DOGE).”
Full text of the letter follows:
The Honorable Robert Kennedy, Jr.
Secretary of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20201
Dear Secretary Kennedy:
We write regarding reports that you have terminated staff responsible for administering the Low-Income Home Energy Program (LIHEAP). If true, these terminations threaten to devastate a critical program dedicated to helping Americans afford their home energy bills.
For over 40 years, LIHEAP has been the main federal program that helps low-income households and seniors pay their energy bills, providing vital assistance during both the cold winter and hot summer months. Each year, more than six million households across the country rely on LIHEAP to afford their energy bills. It is an indispensable lifeline, helping to ensure that recipients do not have to choose between paying their energy bills and affording other necessities like food and medicine.
We are concerned that the reported staff terminations will undermine the HHS’s ability to deliver this critical funding to low-income seniors and families. We are also concerned that the local community action agencies that help enroll qualified beneficiaries could be weakened by other actions and funding cuts being undertaken by HHS and the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE). As you know, our states are expecting HHS to release nearly $400 million in FY25 funding later this month. Any delay in providing this funding will set back efforts to provide summer cooling grants, weatherize low-income homes, and plan for the next winter heating season.
Access to affordable home energy is a matter of health and safety for many low-income households, children, and seniors. To that end, we urge you to reverse course on any staffing or funding cuts that would jeopardize the distribution of these funds to our constituents.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to your prompt response.
Background
The federally funded LIHEAP program is a crucial lifeline that helps over 6 million low-income households and seniors on fixed incomes afford their energy bills, including those who use natural gas, propane, electricity, and home heating oil. Without this assistance, many Americans may not be able to afford their utility bills and could end up falling victim to extreme weather.
Senators Murkowski, Collins, and Reed led the successful effort to provide a total of $4.1 billion for LIHEAP this fiscal year, with $4 billion through appropriations and $100 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds. In Fiscal Year 2024, Alaskans got $21.3 million from LIHEAP.
HHS has already released 90 percent of those federal funds to state partners. The remaining 10 percent, almost $400 million, used by states to pay for summer cooling, and emergency funding for households that need additional assistance and weatherization, cannot be released until HHS determines the state-by-state allocation. Now, it’s unclear how the remaining funds could be disbursed to the states.
In addition to Murkowski, Reed, and Collins, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Angus S. King, Jr. (I-ME), Tina Smith (D-MN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Christopher Coons (D-DE), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Edward J. Markey (D-MA) Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM).
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