Proponents are advocating for a new round of federal funding for LIHEAP on account of the economic downturn that the nation faces due to COVID-19. They state that around $4.3 billion of funding is needed to protect struggling consumers in the coming months when utility shut-off moratoria end, and that energy assistance should not only be given to low-income households that were eligible for LIHEAP prior to the pandemic, but to newly laid off workers and to the elderly and those with pre-existing health conditions who are required to shelter-in-place so that they can purchase air conditioning units. The HEROES Act, which is the next economic stimulus plan that is working it's way through congress, could create a surge of new LIHEAP enrollees since it would modify eligibility requirements to allow anyone who has been unemployed since the end of February to obtain benefits without requiring them to meet the income requirements that they would in an ordinary year.
Hil Anderson, "Additional LIHEAP funding urged for struggling families as Senate considers more COVID-19 relief", contributed by Morgan Sarao, The Energy Rights Project, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 28 May 2020, accessed 26 April 2024. https://energyrights.info/content/additional-liheap-funding-urged-struggling-families-senate-considers-more-covid-19-relief
Critical Commentary
Proponents are advocating for a new round of federal funding for LIHEAP on account of the economic downturn that the nation faces due to COVID-19. They state that around $4.3 billion of funding is needed to protect struggling consumers in the coming months when utility shut-off moratoria end, and that energy assistance should not only be given to low-income households that were eligible for LIHEAP prior to the pandemic, but to newly laid off workers and to the elderly and those with pre-existing health conditions who are required to shelter-in-place so that they can purchase air conditioning units. The HEROES Act, which is the next economic stimulus plan that is working it's way through congress, could create a surge of new LIHEAP enrollees since it would modify eligibility requirements to allow anyone who has been unemployed since the end of February to obtain benefits without requiring them to meet the income requirements that they would in an ordinary year.