Courtney’s Effort to Increase LIHEAP Funding Included in New Government Funding Bill
NORWICH, CT — Today, after leading the effort in Congress to provide more resources to help Americans lower their home heating costs, Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02) highlighted the substantial increase in funding that has now been proposed for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in the Continuing Appropriations Act (CR) for FY 2022. As winter approaches, funding for LIHEAP is important for households in eastern Connecticut, and under new guidelines, more households than ever are eligible for the support.
The CR would fund the federal government through December 16, 2022. At Rep. Courtney and his colleagues’ insistence, the CR now includes $1 billion in additional funding for LIHEAP—a higher amount than the $500 million proposed by the White House, in keeping with Rep. Courtney’s request.
“It’s clear from talking with local families and from working with groups like TVCCA that we need to re-supply LIHEAP at the highest possible level as we head into the winter,” said Rep. Courtney. “LIHEAP has already helped people lower heating and energy costs this year, we know demand will remain high as it gets colder, and we need to make sure it’s there when people need it. Strengthening LIHEAP is the best and most direct way to provide people with support to lower their home energy costs, and under new guidelines there are more households than ever that now qualify for the assistance. Glad to see that our effort to strengthen LIHEAP has been successful so far—we’re going to keep working in bipartisan fashion until it becomes final.”
In Connecticut, federal LIHEAP funding is currently fueling the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program (CEAP), which provides homeowners with direct assistance to help lower the cost of heating and home energy use. The LIHEAP program has received increased overall funding recently thanks to bills like the American Rescue Plan and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which has enabled programs like CEAP to be expanded and assist even more people.
Additional funding for LIHEAP would provide even more home energy assistance to people throughout the region. With colder months and the end of the fiscal year on the horizon, Rep. Courtney led 18 representatives from the Connecticut and New England Congressional Delegations in writing to U.S. House and Senate Appropriators urging them to include additional funding for LIHEAP in this week’s stop-gap government funding package. Click here to read the full letter.
In August, Rep. Courtney joined another bipartisan calling for emergency funding to LIHEAP for the winter season. Courtney has also kept in touch with local Community Action Agencies in eastern Connecticut, including the Thames Valley Council for Community Action (TVCCA) who work to raise awareness and help residents apply for energy assistance through LIHEAP.
Earlier this month, Courtney met with TVCCA Executive Director Deborah Monahan and representatives of local home heating oil supplier Viking Fuel in Norwich to provide an update on newly expanded assistance for homeowners through the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program (CEAP), which is funded by LIHEAP. Click here to watch the full update.
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