{"id":23339,"date":"2025-11-17T13:25:44","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T18:25:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.merkley.senate.gov\/?p=23339"},"modified":"2025-11-17T13:25:46","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T18:25:46","slug":"wyden-merkley-push-trump-administration-to-release-funds-for-heating-assistance-for-low-income-americans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merkley.senate.gov\/es\/wyden-merkley-push-trump-administration-to-release-funds-for-heating-assistance-for-low-income-americans\/","title":{"rendered":"Wyden, Merkley Push Trump Administration to Release Funds for Heating Assistance for Low-Income Americans\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Millions of households await help with their heating bills heading into winter amid skyrocketing energy costs<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Washington DC<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today that they are\u00a0joining a bipartisan group of senators to push the Trump administration to immediately release funds for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a lifeline program that helps low-income Americans afford their energy bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. comes as the Trump administration sits on $4 billion in previously-appropriated funding for the LIHEAP program that it refuses to distribute. The Trump administration previously proposed eliminating LIHEAP, and the senators are part of a successful bipartisan pushback to save and fund the program. According to a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/neada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/EnergypricesNov25.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">new forecast from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association<\/a>, home heating costs are estimated to rise by an average of nearly 8 percent since last winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>\u201cAs Congress works to finalize the Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations bill for the Department of Health and Human Services, we urge you to immediately release the highest amount of Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding available under the Continuing Resolution<\/strong>,\u201d the senators wrote.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Last year, Oregon alone received\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.opb.org\/article\/2025\/11\/13\/federal-government-shutdown-oregon-utilities-heat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$41.7 million in federal LIHEAP funds to help 114,000 Oregonians pay their energy bills<\/a>. Eligibility for LIHEAP is based on income, family size, and the availability of resources. While eligibility varies by state, most applicants must have a household income below 150% of the federal poverty guideline or 60% of the state median income.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The letter was led by U.S. Senators Jack Reed, D-R.I., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. In addition to Wyden and Merkley, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawai\u2019i., Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Angus King, I-Maine, Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n, D-N.M., Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Tina Smith, D-Minn., Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, Chris Van Hollen, Md., Mark Warner, D-Va., Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>El texto completo de la carta es\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reed.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/fy26_liheap_release_final_111425.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">aqu\u00ed<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">###<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Millions of households await help with their heating bills heading into winter amid skyrocketing energy costs Washington, D.C.\u00a0\u2013 U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today that they are\u00a0joining a bipartisan group of senators to push the Trump administration to immediately release funds for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a lifeline program [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":18846,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[43,47],"class_list":["post-23339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-releases","tag-bipartisan-actions","tag-protecting-consumers-taxpayers-and-the-economy"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - 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