A bipartisan coalition in Congress, including Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., is hoping to persuade budget writers not to cut funding to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, also known as LIHEAP.
The group of 164 lawmakers includes Reps. Lou Barletta, R-Pa., and Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., who is co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
The members wrote to the House Appropriations Committee urging its members to disregard President Donald Trump’s budget recommendation to scrap the program.
“LIHEAP helps low-income households and seniors with their energy bills, providing vital assistance during both the cold winter and hot summer months,” the letter reads. “LIHEAP households are among the most vulnerable in the country. For these households, LIHEAP funding has been a lifeline during challenging economic times.”
LIHEAP has frequently been subject to federal cuts, with support declining by almost $1.7 billion since fiscal year 2010. Welch and the other lawmakers are calling for LIHEAP to receive $4.7 billion in fiscal year 2018, a more than $1 billion increase from current funding.
According to the National Energy and Utility Affordability Coalition, more than 1 million Americans in need of assistance are unable to get LIHEAP support because of budget constraints.
Vermont received roughly $18.9 million in LIHEAP assistance during the current fiscal year, a sum supporting 21,500 low-income Vermont households. Because fuel prices have been relatively flat and caseloads have been decreasing, most Vermonters are seeing higher benefits this year compared with 2015, according to Vermont officials.
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that deals with human services appropriations, is generally supportive of the LIHEAP program, though his position on LIHEAP levels in next year’s budget is unclear.
There are also a number of members in the Republican-controlled Senate who do not share Trump’s vision of eliminating LIHEAP.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the vice chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, has strenuously opposed the planned cut to LIHEAP.
