The low-income home energy program helped more than 160,000 Massachusetts residents in 2018

Washington (May 11, 2020) – Senators Edward J. Markey and Elizabeth Warren today applauded the release of $28 million dollars for Massachusetts in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Supplemental Funds under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act provided $900 million of supplemental LIHEAP funding nationwide to help “prevent, prepare for, or respond to” home energy needs surrounding the national emergency created by the coronavirus emergency. LIHEAP is the main federal program that helps low-income households and seniors with their energy bills, providing critical assistance during the cold winter and hot summer months.

“As our country experiences the worst unemployment levels since the Great Depression, vulnerable families and seniors need help now more than ever before,” said Senators Markey and Warren. “This LIHEAP funding that we fought hard to secure will help thousands of additional Massachusetts families qualify for vital fuel assistance.”

In February, Senators Markey and Warren called on the Trump administration to stop any proposal to transfer money out of the already underfunded LIHEAP program to support the national response to the coronavirus threat. The Senators argued that reducing the funding for the LIHEAP program – which helps six millions low-income American families across the country afford their energy bills – would mean households would have to choose between paying their energy bill and paying for other necessities like rent, groceries, or medicine.

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