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On November 1, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education released $3.32 billion of the Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2020 Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding. This accounts for approximately 90 percent of FFY 2020 regular block grant funding to LIHEAP grantees. The total amount of funding is $3.68 billion, level with FFY 2019, and is provided under the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2020, and Health Extenders Act of 2019 (Continuing Resolution), which the president signed into law on September 27, 2019.

LIHEAP is a federal block grant program that provides money to low-income individuals/families to help them meet their heating and cooling needs and requires an annual appropriation from Congress. APGA continues to push for full funding at the authorized $5.1 billion level as LIHEAP assistance continues to play a critical role in helping low-income families meet their energy needs. Without LIHEAP funding assistance many low-income families face the difficult choice between paying their energy bills versus paying for other necessities, such as healthcare, food and childcare.

View these spreadsheets that show the breakdown of State and Tribal funds: part 1 and part 2. 

For questions on this article, please contact Todd Brady of APGA staff by phone at 202-464-2742 or by email at tbrady@apga.org.