Senator Klobuchar Announces Release of Heating Funds to Help Low-Income Families

Press Release

Senator Klobuchar Announces Release of Heating Funds to Help Low-Income Families

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar today applauded the release of an additional $131 million left in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds to help families and seniors pay their heating bills this year and cover past-due heating and cooling bills. This year, consumers are expecting to pay record-high prices to heat their homes during the winter season.

"Record energy prices are placing a real burden on Minnesota's families, many of whom are being forced to choose between paying their bills or putting food on the table," said Klobuchar. "This funding will go a long way toward helping families meet a basic necessity."

Earlier this month, Klobuchar joined 51 of her Senate colleagues in sending a letter to the President requesting that the remaining LIHEAP funding be released to all states. Every year, Congress appropriates contingency funds that the P resident can use to address energy emergencies. $131 million of the remaining funding was scheduled to expire if it was not released by the White House before September 30.

"Minnesota is famous for its cold winters," said Klobuchar. "As heating costs continue to rise, these funds will help avoid a family budget crisis during the cold winter months."

A National Energy Directors Association survey conducted this year found that millions of low-income households nationwide are facing severe hardships paying past-due heating bills from last winter and coping with impending loss of service. The survey estimated that at least 1.2 million households have been disconnected from electric and natural gas service during the three-month period following the end of state shutoff moratoriums

More than four million low-income families nationwide, including more than 130,000 in Minnesota, use LIHEAP money to help meet their heating needs.

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