Pappas Leads Opposition to Trump’s Elimination of Home Energy Assistance Program

Today Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) led 73 of his colleagues in a letter to House Appropriations Committee leadership urging the rejection of President Trump’s budget proposal to eliminate the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). 28,000 Granite State households rely on this program to save thousands of dollars a year on energy costs. 

The members wrote, “Nearly six million low-income households rely on this program to heat and cool their homes. At a time when energy and gas prices are skyrocketing, and total utility debt has climbed to its highest since 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, to propose this elimination is unfathomable. We urge you to reject this program’s elimination, and fund LIHEAP at the highest level possible for FY 2027.”

“More than 80 million Americans are struggling to pay their energy bills, and one in five households report forgoing basic necessities like food and medicine to pay an energy bill,” they continued. “Families need support now more than ever to afford the most basic household goods as rising energy costs and gasoline, food, and heating oil prices surge due to tariffs and President Trump’s war of choice in Iran. Eliminating LIHEAP will further exacerbate the energy affordability crisis and the nearly impossible choices households face every day due to rising costs.”

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 afford their energy bills. Over 28,000 New Hampshire households benefit from LIHEAP with an average savings of $1,284.

Read the letter here or below. 

Dear Chairman Cole, Chairman Aderholt, and Ranking Member DeLauro:

We write with serious concern regarding the proposed elimination of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in the President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 budget. Nearly six million low-income households rely on this program to heat and cool their homes. At a time when energy and gas prices are skyrocketing, and total utility debt has climbed to its highest since 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, to propose this elimination is unfathomable. We urge you to reject this program’s elimination, and fund LIHEAP at the highest level possible for FY 2027. 

Energy prices are skyrocketing, with nearly two-thirds of households reporting an increase in monthly energy bills compared to the same months last year. Electricity prices are climbing at a rate more than twice inflation, increasing by as much as 13 percent since the start of 2025. As a result, more than 80 million Americans are struggling to pay their energy bills, and one in five households report forgoing basic necessities like food and medicine to pay an energy bill. Even if households are able to pay their energy bill, 11 percent of households report keeping their home at an unhealthy or unsafe temperature. 

Families need support now more than ever to afford the most basic household goods as rising energy costs and gasoline, food, and heating oil prices surge due to tariffs and President Trump’s war of choice in Iran. Eliminating LIHEAP will further exacerbate the energy affordability crisis and the nearly impossible choices households face every day due to rising costs. 

We thank the committee for rejecting President Trump’s budget proposal to eliminate LIHEAP over five different fiscal years. We urge the committee to again reject this proposal, and instead fund LIHEAP to the highest amount possible for Fiscal Year 2027. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

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 to take all necessary steps to ensure that LIHEAP funds were distributed to the 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 bipartisan Banning Oil Exports to Foreign Adversaries Act, the Energy 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.