Cara Brown McCormick
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps millions of low-income families cover heating and cooling costs, faces serious disruption after the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) laid off all federal staff overseeing the program.
Though most of this year’s $4.1 billion in LIHEAP funds had already been distributed, about $378 million remains in limbo with no federal staff to manage it.
Twenty-two states and five territories are now without a local point of contact for heating assistance, childcare programs, and Meals on Wheels. Nationwide, an estimated 6 million households receive assistance with heating and cooling costs through LIHEAP.
The cuts leave vulnerable families — especially the elderly and disabled — without support. Lawmakers have requested HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testify on the decision.
In Maine, tens of thousands of households rely on LIHEAP assistance annually to stay warm. On March 28, MaineHousing stopped processing new applications for energy assistance, citing current funding projections, and began placing applicants on a waitlist.
Maine US Rep Jared Golden took to X for his reaction and questioned Tuesday, “What efficiency is achieved by firing everyone in Maine whose job is to help Mainers afford heating oil when it's cold?”