Letter to the Hon. Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management and Budget - Klobuchar, Smith Urge Administration to Reconsider Proposed Elimination of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP)

Letter

Dear Director Mulvaney:

We are writing to express our concerns over the proposed elimination of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) in the Fiscal Year 2019 Budget. These critical programs have helped low-income households across Minnesota meet their energy needs and avoided making them choose between heating their homes and other basic necessities.

The importance of LIHEAP cannot be overstated-- especially in places like Minnesota that experience bitterly cold temperatures and lengthy winters. Nearly 126,000 households rely on the program in my state and more than 75 percent of them have at least one member who is elderly, disabled, or a child.

The Weatherization Assistance Program has helped over 300,000 low-income households in Minnesota upgrade their heating units and better insulate their homes. This program has not only provided heating assistance, but has also helped consumers benefit from lower demand on the energy grid during months where demand is high.

In the winter of 2013-2014, Minnesota experienced an especially harsh winter, the effects of which were worsened by a spike in propane costs. At that time, the Joint Economic Committee released a study that discussed how maintaining aid for families in LIHEAP is especially important in situations when energy price spikes threaten consumers and regional economies.

These programs provide resources that are critically important to thousands of Minnesotans. We urge you to reconsider their proposed elimination and express support for funding them in both this fiscal year and moving forward.

Sincerely,

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