LIHEAP & Fuel Assistance

The federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is the cornerstone of U.S. government efforts to help low-income households afford their energy bills. NCLC advocates for adequate federal LIHEAP appropriations to help families stay current with their energy bills and avoid devastating utility disconnections.

Policy Analysis

Policy Briefs, Reports & Press Releases

• Issue Brief: How the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Can Help Vulnerable Consumers After a Natural Disaster, March 2018

• Issue Brief: The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP): A Safety Net that Saves Lives, Feb. 2018

• Fact Sheet: Benefits of the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association, March 29, 2017
• Issue Brief: Changes to the Heat and Eat Provision in the 2014 Farm Bill and How LIHEAP Participants May Be Affected, June 2014
• Issue Brief: Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), March 2012
• Press Release: Congressional Fuel Aid Cuts Threaten to Leave Millions of Families in the Cold, November 18, 2010

Letters 

• NCLC letter to the Secretary of U.S. Health and Human Services urging  reconsider the transfer of the remaining FY19 Low Income Home Energy Assistance funds and instead release these funds to the states to help low-income families households stay connected to essential energy services, March 15, 2019
• Letter to the Office of Management and Budget re approval of the LIHEAP model state plans form, Aug. 31, 2017
• Letters from NCLC and the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association to HUD Secty. Price urging prompt release of remaining FY17 Low Income Home and Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding, May 18, 2017
• Letter to Senate re LIHEAP appropriations, Nov. 2010
• Governors’ LIHEAP funding letter, Nov. 2010

Testimony and Comments

• Comments to USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) opposing their proposed rule, which would take away states’ ability to set their own Heating and Cooling Standard Utility Allowance (HCSUA), resulting in billions of dollars in SNAP benefits being taken from families in need, Nov. 27, 2019
• Comments to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget Opposing Proposed Changes to the federal poverty line adjustment methodology (Directive No. 14, “Consumer Inflation Measures Produced by Federal Statistical Agencies,” Docket No. OMB-2019-0002), June 21, 2019
• Testimony of the National Consumer Law Center, on Behalf of Its Low-Income Clients, Before the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies re: FY2020 Appropriations for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), June 3, 2019
• Group comments to the Office of Management and Budget Regarding Proposed Information Collection Activity for LIHEAP fuel assistance, 79 Fed. Reg. 32550, submitted July 31, 2014
• Group comments to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regarding Proposed Information Collection Activity for LIHEAP fuel assistance, 78 Fed. Reg. 34105, August 2, 2013
• Testimony: FY 2013 Appropriations for the Health & Human Services Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), March 28, 2012
• Testimony: FY 2012 Appropriations for the HHS Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), April 2011
• Testimony of the National Consumer Law Center, on Behalf of Our Low-Income Clients Before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, FY 2011 Appropriations for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), April 15, 2010 91KB
• Testimony of the National Consumer Law Center on Behalf of Our Low-Income Clients Before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, FY 2010 Appropriations for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), May 1, 2009 PDF 61KB

Additional Resources

NCLC’s Energy and Utility Publications and Resources