Entire LIHEAP Staff at HHS Fired, Jeopardizing Distribution of Home Energy Bill Assistance for Low-Income Households

The entire staff administering the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) were fired on April 1, along with 10,000 other staff of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). LIHEAP helps pay the home energy bills for 6.2 million low-income households each year, including seniors, families with children, and people with disabilities, enabling them to keep the heat on in winter and assist with cooling in the summer. According to HUD, housing is “affordable” if a household spends no more than 30% of their adjusted income on rent/mortgage plus utilities. LIHEAP helps keep housing affordable for those 6.2 million households. 

“We are very concerned that the lack of staff will result in delays in the $378 million in unreleased LIHEAP funding to the states.” said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA). “If that happens, states can’t provide emergency help to families in need.” 

A media release from National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) and NEADA noted that while state programs that administer LIHEAP benefits have funding to continue to operate for the coming months, the elimination of the 23 federal LIHEAP staff threatens the stability of this popular, essential program. It puts at risk the $378 million remaining unreleased summer assistance funds that Congress approved in March to help prevent families from being disconnected from energy service. The status of LIHEAP in the coming fiscal years is also jeopardized, starting with FY26 LIHEAP annual plans that need to be reviewed and approved by federal staff. 

"The LIHEAP program run by HHS protects the daily health and safety of people, particularly those most vulnerable to extreme cold and extreme hot weather across the country, in every state and territory.” said Olivia Wein, senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center, “LIHEAP saves lives, and it has helped keep home energy more affordable for over 40 years. Therefore, it is critical that HHS ensure there is no disruption to the administration of the LIHEAP program in order to protect families during future hot summers and cold winters.”  

Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, invited HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to testify regarding the layoffs at a hearing slated for Thursday, April 10. NCLC and NEADA call on the members of the Committee to insist that the legal requirements to provide LIHEAP are met and to critically examine all other pending staffing cuts to ensure that many Americans are not put at risk.  

Information about LIHEAP from NCLC is at: https://tinyurl.com/2z5sjyze. 

Information about LIHEAP is on page 5-34 of NLIHC’s 2024 Advocates’ Guide. 

State LIHEAP contacts are available on a NEADA webpage.