HHS cuts federal staff that runs program to help families pay utility bills
HHS lays off staff that runs program to help families pay utility bills
A program that helps struggling families pay their energy bills is now facing an uncertain future after the program's entire staff was cut in the latest round of the Trump administration’s federal worker layoffs.
WASHINGTON - A program that helps families struggling to pay their energy bills is now facing an uncertain future after the program's entire staff was cut in the latest round of the Trump administration’s federal worker layoffs.
The federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LiHEAP) helps tens of thousands of low-income residents pay their heating and cooling bills.
Now, there's major concern that with the people who run the program out, the program itself is gone too.
What they're saying:
"It is outrageous that the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, is working to cut these programs that help working people. People who are struggling paycheck to paycheck," Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen said.
This comes in the latest round of layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services, which resulted in 10,000 people losing their jobs this week across agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and more.
Why you should care:
The LiHEAP staff were the ones who granted money to states for very low-income Americans to use to keep their utilities from getting shut off.
Last year in Maryland, the program received a record number of applicants — about 245,000. Roughly 94,000 households actually received benefits because the criteria to qualify is fairly strict. That amounted to about $70 million in assistance.
Virginia got more than $100 million from the program last year and nationally, the program helps more than six million families pay their utility bills.
Maryland Congressman Glenn Ivey was a former public service commission chair, which helps regulate utilities, so he knows firsthand the impact this will have.
"So hopefully this will get restored but I doubt it. They seem to be trying to move in the direction of cutting as much as they can as fast as they can regardless of the impact and it's a sad and devastating approach to governance," Ivey said.
What's next:
As summer approaches, there is growing concern about how many of these Americans will keep their homes safe and cool.