Trump admin. fires entire LIHEAP staff, future of program uncertain

FOR ALL OF THOSE WHO DEPEND ON LIHEAP FOR HELP TO WARM THEIR HOMES IN THE WINTER MIGHT NOT HAVE HEAT THIS YEAR!!

The program's target population is low-income households, especially those with a high home energy burden,

meaning the share of the home's income that goes to heating and cooling bills. In 2023, LIHEAP served 5.9 million households, and got heat or cooling restored 261,000 times,

LIHEAP Fact Sheet

https://acf.gov/ocs/fact-sheet/liheap-fact-sheet

FY 2025 First Award of $3.6 Billion of Regular LIHEAP Block Grant Funds Plus $100.1 Million of LIHEAP Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Funds to States and Territories

https://acf.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ocs/CORR_LIHEAP_1stFundingReleaseAtt1_StatesTerrs_FY2025_2.pdf

Going forward, the status of the program, which provides roughly $4 billion per year to help low-income families with heating and cooling costs, is unclear.

Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association,
told CNN that the firings could cause the program to “grind to a halt” with $387 million left to distribute.

LIHEAP is widely seen as a lifeline for millions of low-income households struggling to cover home heating and cooling costs.

Congress largely has not fulfilled those requests for more funding, limiting the extent of LIHEAP aid. Last year the program's allocation was slashed to $4.1 billion from $6.1 billion the

The staff of 10 employees accounted for only a small fraction of the 10,000 layoffs included in Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s purge of the Department of Health and Human Services.

But those who work closely with the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, now fear for its future.

“Ultimately, I believe the program will crumble from within without the federal office there to manage it,”
said Andrew Germain, who was director of fiscal operations and accountability for the Administration for Children and Families,

the HHS division that leads dozens of programs from welfare assistance to child-abuse prevention.

Germain and his team were responsible for conducting oversight and providing technical assistance to such community services, including LIHEAP.

He received an email from HHS around 5 a.m. ET Tuesday informing him that he would be placed on administrative leave until June 2.

The Office of Personnel Management requires federal employees be given 60 days’ notice before the effective date of workforce cuts.

HHS fires entire staff of program that helps low-income people

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5228186-hhs-fires-entire-staff-of-program-that-helps-low-income-people-afford-heat-and-air-conditioning/

The Trump administration fired the staff that runs the Low Income Home Energy Program. What will that mean in the Berkshires?

https://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/local/liheap-firing-funding-delay/article_83fbcf3f-2676-4fae-a0ef-7e933bbd07ca.html

Senator Markey Slams LIHEAP Firings

https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-markey-slams-liheap-firings

HHS fires entire staff of program that helps low-income people afford heat and air conditioning

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5228186-hhs-fires-entire-staff-of-program-that-helps-low-income-people-afford-heat-and-air-conditioning/

Entire staff responsible for utility assistance included in HHS cuts, sources say
Those who work closely with the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program now fear for its future.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/trump-admin-fires-staff-liheap-agency-utilities-assistance-program-rcna199177

Entire staff of Maine heating assistance program fired by Trump administration

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AdOH3ddV48

original found on 6abc Philadelphia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2inZ0U1zPgE