White House highlights effort to cover winter heating bills
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is distributing an additional $4.5 billion in funds to help low-income Americans cover heating costs during a second pandemic winter, with cold-weather states receiving the largest share, according to a state-by-state breakdown released Friday.
The funding boost — part of last year's $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan coronavirus relief package — more than doubled the normal funding level of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP. These funds represent the largest appropriation in a single year since the program was established in 1981.
The Associated Press obtained an advance copy of the state allocation breakdown, which shows a clear prioritization of cold-weather states with higher heating costs. For example, Minnesota received nearly $274 million in home energy assistance for needy residents. Meanwhile, Texas, which has a population five times larger, received just $10 million more. New York state, with a population of less than 20 million people compared with Texas' 29 million, received just under $876 million.
President Joe Biden's administration also announced commitments from seven major utility companies across the country to guarantee no shutoffs for customers seeking assistance and to identify and notify recipients eligible for government aid.
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