WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley said today the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is releasing $2,040,338 in contingency funding to Iowa through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
The Department of Health and Human Services is releasing $100 million in emergency funds to states to help families in need pay their heating and energy bills this winter.
"The release of these funds is good news as the price of home heating continues to rise," Grassley said. "I will continue working with my senate colleagues to make sure that LIHEAP is adequately funded so that Iowans don’t have to choose between heating their homes and other necessities this winter."
In December, an additional $2 billion for LIHEAP was included in the Defense appropriations bill. However, when the Senate rejected drilling in ANWR, the source of the additional funding for LIHEAP was removed.
At that time Grassley expressed frustration that the Senate rejected the opportunity to provide more heating assistance for low income Iowans. He said that the very same Senators who voted to remove the ANWR provision that included LIHEAP were the same ones who have been howling that we can’t get heat for low-income people.
"I hope we can work together in the new year to provide the needed funding for this vital program," Grassley said.
The Energy Information Administration estimates that heating bills for all fuel types will cost Americans about one-third more this winter on average, assuming typical weather. A colder-than-normal winter could lift energy prices nearly 50 percent. The large jump in heating bills are due to slightly colder temperatures and the continuing impact of hurricanes Katrina and Rita on the nation's energy production.