Posted on August 30, 2023
On Monday, I supported the 2023-2024 Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) allocation plan to provide much needed energy assistance to low-income families who might struggle to heat their homes this winter.
This year, the state’s most vulnerable residents will receive a basic benefit of $530 and families will be eligible for two crisis benefits of $410.
During the public hearing, I, along with my Republican colleagues raised many concerns that benefit levels will be significantly lower than previous few years and the seemingly high administrative costs.
I was concerned by the lack of new policy fixes, the slow implementation of legislation, the legislature passed to improve the program and the final approval process as committee members were limited in our ability to get adequate information from state agencies and with no apparent timeline.