The Bay State received $136 million in Fiscal Year 2019, a decrease of nearly eight percent from last year

Boston (November 20, 2018) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Congressman William Keating (MA-09) today led members of the Massachusetts delegation in calling for answers from the Trump administration on why the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is using outdated energy price information to determine Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) allocations. HHS is currently using two-year-old data for fuel costs, instead of up-to-date information in determining how to allocate a portion of home energy funds. As a result, a portion of the LIHEAP money that gets awarded to states like Massachusetts is divorced from the reality of what families will spend this winter to heat their homes.

Joining Senator Markey in sending the letter are Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Representatives Richard E. Neal (MA-01), James P. McGovern (MA-02), Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08), Niki Tsongas (MA-03), Joseph P. Kennedy III (MA-04), and Seth Moulton (MA-06).

“Using two-year-old energy prices to dictate the allocation of FY19 LIHEAP funds means that these allocations are not based on the reality of what consumers will actually experience each winter —particularly for more volatile commodities like home heating oil,” write the lawmakers in their letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “We are concerned that the methodology employed by HHS for allocations of LIHEAP funds under the new formula is based on outdated data that does not reflect actual price conditions and consumer demand, which may be unfairly harming families in Massachusetts and other cold weather states.” 

A copy of the letter can be found HERE. 

Nationwide, roughly 33 percent of households receiving LIHEAP assistance had at least one member 60 years of age or older, 38 percent of households had at least one member with a disability, and 19 percent of households included at least one child five years of age or younger.

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