Pappas, Lawler Lead Bipartisan Call for HHS to Distribute Remaining $400 Million in LIHEAP Funds

Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) and Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17) led a group of 44 members in calling on the Department of Health and Human Services to release more than $400 million in undistributed Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding.

The members wrote, “Electricity costs have increased 13 percent over the past year, and crude oil prices have spiked more since the beginning of the year than in any quarter since 1988. With this past winter’s record-setting cold temperatures across the United States, households and families need more support, not less.”

“We urge you to do everything possible to distribute LIHEAP funds to states and families without delay. Families should not have to choose between staying warm and other essential items like food, medication, or rent,” they wrote. 

Pappas and his colleagues reiterated their concern over LIHEAP’s ability to operate since Secretary Kennedy fired all LIHEAP staff last April, writing, “We additionally continue to have serious concerns about LIHEAP’s capacity to operate effectively without dedicated staff. We urge you to ensure that necessary personnel and resources are in place to support LIHEAP's continued success.”

LIHEAP assists low-income individuals and families with the costs of heating and cooling their homes and helps to mitigate the impacts of rising energy costs and extreme weather events. Across the nation, LIHEAP helps nearly 6 million households, including over 28,000 in New Hampshire, afford their energy bills. Today roughly 10% of the $4.45 billion allocated for LIHEAP for Fiscal Year 2026 remains undistributed. 

Last week Pappas led 73 of his colleagues in a letter to House Appropriations Committee leadership urging the rejection of President Trump’s budget proposal to eliminate LIHEAP.

Read the full letter here and below: 

Dear Secretary Kennedy,

We write with concern following recent reporting that more than $400 million in Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding has yet to be distributed to states. We appreciate the agency’s responsiveness following last year’s lapse in appropriations and all that was done to ensure LIHEAP funds were distributed expeditiously. We write once again to urge the agency to ensure all LIHEAP funds are delivered as quickly as possible to the nearly six million households that rely on this assistance.

The remaining undistributed LIHEAP funds represent roughly 10 percent of the $4.45 billion allocated for Fiscal Year 2026. While we understand that the majority of LIHEAP funds are distributed in late fall, with the remaining percentage, usually around 10 percent, distributed the following year in late winter and early spring, states usually receive the entirety of their funds by the end of March. We are concerned that without a prompt disbursement of the remaining funds, states will run out of funds and be forced to halt assistance to households in immediate need.

Electricity costs have increased 13 percent over the past year, and crude oil prices have spiked more since the beginning of the year than in any quarter since 1988. With this past winter’s record-setting cold temperatures across the United States, households and families need more support, not less.

While states do protect households with utility shutoff moratoriums throughout the coldest months of the year, these moratoriums typically end by late March or early April. In New Hampshire, the “winter period” ends on March 31st, while in New York, protections against shutoffs extend through April 15th.

We additionally continue to have serious concerns about LIHEAP’s capacity to operate effectively without dedicated staff. We urge you to ensure that necessary personnel and resources are in place to support LIHEAP's continued success. 

We urge you to do everything possible to distribute LIHEAP funds to states and families without delay. Families should not have to choose between staying warm and other essential items like food, medication, or rent. We appreciate your attention on this urgent matter and stand ready to support the agency in assisting the American people. 

Sincerely,

Background:

In 2025 Pappas led 90 of his Congressional colleagues in calling for the protection of LIHEAP and the rehiring of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) staff who manage the LIHEAP program that were fired, and he supports the bipartisan LIHEAP Staffing Support Act, which would set a minimum staffing level within HHS to administer LIHEAP. In the House-passed HHS appropriations funding package, Pappas helped secure language requiring HHS to report to Congress on their current staffing levels to ensure LIHEAP is properly staffed.

Pappas is a fierce advocate for efforts that lower energy costs for Granite Staters and programs that help low-income families pay their bills. He has repeatedly called on both Democratic and Republican administrations to stop the export of oil to foreign adversaries and protect and strengthen LIHEAP, including successfully pressing the Department of Health and Human Services last year to take all necessary steps to ensure that LIHEAP funds were distributed to states by November 30, 2025. He has also previously introduced, cosponsored, or called for the passage of the following legislation: his bipartisan Energy Burden Tax Credit Act, his bipartisan Transmission Facilitation Program Reauthorization, his Heroes Home Energy Savings Act, his bipartisan Bolstering Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve Act, the bipartisanBanning Oil Exports to Foreign Adversaries Act, theEnergy Independence and Affordability Act, the bipartisan Weatherization Enhancement and Readiness Act of 2025. He also helped launch the Congressional Lowering Utility Bills Caucus earlier this year. 

Fuel and electric assistance programs funded by LIHEAP are available through New Hampshire Community Action Agencies to help Granite Staters afford to heat and cool their homes. Granite Staters can apply through their CAP agency.