The House Committee on Appropriations recently approved a $4.025 billion appropriation for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, as part of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, Fiscal Year 2025.
The markup included two other appropriations bills and completes the committee’s work on the 12 annual appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2025. Those bills now head to the full House for consideration.
The appropriation for LIHEAP is $15 million more than was provided in FY 2024.
The modest increase is remarkable given that funding in the bill overall is 11 percent below the FY 2024 effective spending level, and 15 percent below the President’s budget request.
Funding for LIHEAP under the bill is still $71 million less than was requested by the White House.
However, the bill does not include the Biden administration’s proposal to allow states to use up to 2.6 percent of LIHEAP funding -- i.e., all of the funding increase proposed for LIHEAP by the administration -- for water assistance.
APPA has been supportive of water assistance but believes that such a program should not be funded through LIHEAP.
LIHEAP is already chronically underfunded, and adding water assistance to the program will most likely mean less funding for energy assistance, not more funding overall.
