WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.) led a group of 15 Senators in calling on Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and Office of Management and Budget Director Sylvia Matthews Burwell, in light of cuts to heating-related assistance in the Farm Bill, to prioritize and increase funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in the Administration’s budget request for the 2015 fiscal year.

“As you know, recent declines in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding and rising energy costs have already impacted our states’ ability to provide adequate assistance to low-income households,” the senators wrote. “In addition, the Farm Bill conference agreement approved by Congress this week made several changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), including one that will increase the cost to states that use LIHEAP payments to qualify low-income recipients for SNAP benefits. We write to urge you to prioritize LIHEAP in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 budget proposal and encourage you to increase funding to this program that provides critical support to our most vulnerable citizens.”


Full text of the letter:

The Honorable Kathleen Sebelius                               The Honorable Sylvia Mathews Burwell
Secretary                                                                     Director
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services          Office of Management and Budget
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.                                725 17th Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20201                                             Washington, D.C. 20503

Dear Secretary Sebelius and Director Burwell,

As you know, recent declines in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding and rising energy costs have already impacted our states’ ability to provide adequate assistance to low-income households. In addition, the Farm Bill conference agreement approved by Congress this week made several changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), including one that will increase the cost to states that use LIHEAP payments to qualify low-income recipients for SNAP benefits. We write to urge you to prioritize LIHEAP in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 budget proposal and encourage you to increase funding to this program that provides critical support to our most vulnerable citizens.  

The number of households eligible for LIHEAP assistance continues to exceed available resources, and as funding has declined in recent years, states have been forced to provide smaller grants to fewer households. The average LIHEAP grant is estimated to cover less than half of the average home heating costs for a household this winter, meaning that many low-income families and seniors will have fewer resources available to meet other basic needs like food and medicine. In fact, a 2011 National Energy Assistance Director’s Association (NEADA) survey found that nearly one third of families receiving LIHEAP assistance reported going without food as a result of high home energy costs.

Recognizing the challenges facing low-income families in this economy, our states have implemented legal “heat and eat” policies whereby LIHEAP payments to eligible households are used to qualify recipients for a standard utility allowance under SNAP and provide a boost in SNAP benefits. “Heat and Eat” policies have increased efficiencies and stretched state and federal low-income assistance dollars even further.  However, the Farm Bill conference agreement approved by Congress this week makes several changes to SNAP, including one that will increase the threshold for states to provide this additional assistance.  The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this change will reduce benefits for about 850,000 low-income households in our states by an average of $90 a month.

We have written in the past to encourage the Administration to restore LIHEAP funding in its annual budget requests. The upcoming changes in the Farm Bill coupled with high heating oil, natural gas, and propane prices this winter make LIHEAP funding even more critical. We support increased LIHEAP funding so our states can continue to aid struggling families during these challenging economic times.  Heating and eating are basic necessities.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

  

Sincerely,

CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY

United States Senator

 

JACK REED

United States Senator

 

PATRICK LEAHY

United States Senator

 

RICHARD BLUMENTHAL

United States Senator

 

KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND

United States Senator

 

ROBERT MENENDEZ

United States Senator

 

CHARLES SCHUMER

United States Senator

 

JON TESTER

United States Senator

 

JEFF MERKLEY

United States Senator

 

ELIZABETH WARREN

United States Senator

 

CORY BOOKER

United States Senator

 

EDWARD MARKEY

United States Senator

 

ROBERT CASEY

United States Senator

 

TAMMY BALDWIN

United States Senator

 

SHELDON WHITEHOUSE

United States Senator