US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
Trump and RFK Jr. fired entire staff running LIHEAP—putting program that helps 6 million American households heat and cool their homes in grave jeopardy
$378 million due to go out to help Americans avoid sweltering heat this summer now at risk
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, responded to President Trump and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. firing the entirety of the staff who run the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps 6 million American households with the tightest budgets afford to heat and cool their homes.
6 MILLION HOUSEHOLDS SERVED BY LIHEAP ANNUALLY
In a statement, Senator Murray said:
“As he raises costs for American families by $3,800 and works to give billionaires like himself new tax breaks, Trump has now also fired all the staff in charge of helping over 6 million American households heat and cool their homes.
“If the idea here is to prevent federal funding from reaching working class families who are counting on help to cool their homes this summer, Trump and RFK Jr. are on to something—because who exactly is supposed to ensure this funding gets out now? In a matter of weeks, HHS is due to send states hundreds of millions of dollars in new resources ahead of the summer heat—who is going to ensure that happens? When HHS has to quickly turn around new appropriations in October to release funding to states ahead of the winter cold, who is going to ensure that is done quickly and correctly?
“Even a brief delay could ruin the finances of working families who are hanging on by a thread if this money doesn’t get out—and leave seniors stranded in deadly heat waves this summer. If there are serious errors with calculations that end up shortchanging communities, we have Trump and RFK Jr. to thank for firing the very people who keep this program running.
“Donald Trump and Elon Musk would like us to believe that our country cannot afford to pay the salaries of the people who help working people across America heat and cool their homes—but that we can afford over $5 trillion in new tax breaks for billionaires like themselves. It is as absurd as it is offensive—and it is working people across the country who will suffer the consequences of their recklessness.”
LIHEAP helps 6 million households in every state and territory afford to heat and cool their homes with $4.1 billion in assistance for fiscal year 2025. The program is particularly important in ensuring working class Americans and vulnerable populations like seniors are not left in deadly heat waves or winter freezes. Each year, extreme heat causes more deaths than any other weather events.
Approximately $378 million in fiscal year 2025 funding to help Americans cool their homes this summer has yet to go out. Without it, Americans will lose out on a lifeline that saves them money each month and allows them to stay cool.
A state-by-state breakdown of LIHEAP funding in jeopardy because Trump and RFK Jr. fired the entirety of the staff that run the program is below:
STATE
FUNDING
HOUSEHOLDS SERVED
Alabama
$61,827,868
80,636
Alaska
$12,514,996
4,737
Arizona
$34,579,159
27,788
Arkansas
$38,052,625
69,242
California
$252,804,332
222,271
Colorado
$60,504,810
88,951
Connecticut
$80,405,772
101,181
Delaware
$14,532,965
11,431
District of Columbia
$12,663,494
14,893
Florida
$118,510,347
106,968
Georgia
$93,715,302
137,619
Hawaii
$8,322,955
8,349
Idaho
$23,198,387
34,439
Illinois
$197,224,161
172,841
Indiana
$84,494,967
122,931
Iowa
$58,755,595
83,353
Kansas
$40,143,968
39,185
Kentucky
$60,361,460
119,407
Louisiana
$61,891,569
103,858
Maine
$41,291,192
41,195
Maryland
$82,939,890
96,798
Massachusetts
145,506,393
152,011
Michigan
$179,606,815
431,842
Minnesota
$125,243,116
133,166
Mississippi
$38,710,989
46,243
Missouri
$87,476,893
130,057
Montana
$23,598,855
17,254
Nebraska
$35,797,133
41,270
Nevada
$17,014,767
12,273
New Hampshire
$30,873,308
29,669
New Jersey
$135,718,896
241,888
New Mexico
$21,859,849
43,592
New York
$400,902,563
1,162,529
North Carolina
$114,199,252
201,988
North Dakota
$23,610,179
14,633
Ohio
$171,388,890
265,455
Oklahoma
$43,138,184
112,440
Oregon
$44,165,847
57,454
Pennsylvania
$215,460,689
312,789
Rhode Island
$26,802,894
26,052
South Carolina
$53,276,376
48,638
South Dakota
$21,292,485
23,787
Tennessee
$75,921,984
118,073
Texas
$197,192,608
120,725
Utah
$28,641,042
24,344
Vermont
$23,140,644
26,695
Virginia
$103,773,588
118,347
Washington
$66,214,242
84,654
West Virginia
$35,191,790
56,108
Wisconsin
$112,736,789
189,941
Wyoming
$11,065,033
7,615
TOTAL
$4,115,400,000
5,939,605
Funding listed is the full FY24 allocation released to states by HHS. FY25 allocations are not yet final or fully disbursed. [HHS DATA]
Households served is the number of households served by LIHEAP in FY23—the latest data on record. [HHS DATA]