WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, along with U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), both members of the Appropriations Committee, led a bipartisan group of 37 of their Senate colleagues in urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to swiftly release the approximately $400 million in remaining Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds that Congress delivered in Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26).
LIHEAP is a federally funded program that helps low-income households pay utility bills, address energy crises, and lower costs by improving home energy efficiency through weatherization. Over the last year, nearly six million households nationwide received LIHEAP assistance.
“As the main federal program that helps low-income households and seniors with their energy bills, LIHEAP provides critical assistance during the cold winter and hot summer months. According to the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association, households are expected to spend 11% more on winter heating costs this winter compared to last year,” the Senators wrote. “With low-income families and seniors feeling additional strains on their household budgets, a timely release of LIHEAP funding is even more critical to ensure families do not need to choose between paying their energy bills and other essentials, like food or medicine.”
“We urge you to immediately release the remaining roughly $400 million of FY26 Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding available under PL 119-75. Any delay in the release of appropriated funds would set back states’ efforts to cover outstanding bills relating to unexpected delivered fuel emergencies, to weatherize low-income homes, and to plan for summer cooling programs. Our states are ready to deploy these funds to help vulnerable households as soon as they receive them from HHS,” the Senators concluded.
Overriding the Administration’s proposed elimination of LIHEAP, Senators Collins, Reed, and Murkowski successfully led bipartisan efforts to provide a total of $4.045 billion for the program in FY26 – a $20 million increase over the previous year. Much of that funding has been distributed to help struggling families and seniors on fixed incomes, with more than $38 million already distributed to households in Maine this winter.
Eligibility for LIHEAP is based on income, family size, and the availability of resources. LIHEAP applications are now open for all income-eligible households. Senior citizens and those receiving Social Security Disability or SSI benefits are encouraged to apply as early as possible, but applications will be open to everyone through spring of 2026 — or until the funding is exhausted. To find your state agency, visit the Department of Health and Human Services’ map of state and territory LIHEAP contacts.
In addition to Senators Collins, Reed, and Murkowski, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Charles E. Grassley (R-IA), Angus S. King, Jr. (I-ME), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Mark Warner (D-VA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Chris Coons (D-DE), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Angela D. Alsobrooks (D-MD), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NM), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Richard Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Cory Booker (D-NJ).
Click here to read the complete text of the letter.
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