Biden administration to send $385 million to states to offset high home energy costs

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Source: CNN

The Biden administration on Thursday will announce it is sending more than $385 million to states to help offset high home energy costs, including cooling costs this summer, a White House official tells CNN.

The funding will be distributed through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps families afford heating and cooling. The announcement comes as Americans face high utility bills as Russia's invasion of Ukraine sends energy prices soaring and amid persistent global supply chain problems.

The President is traveling on Thursday to the Pacific Northwest, which saw record heat last year, and will highlight the work his administration is doing to try to offset home energy costs and overall lower prices for families.

The $385 million is in addition to $4.5 billion that the American Rescue Plan provided to LIHEAP and the $500 million allocated by the bipartisan infrastructure law to the same program.



Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/biden-administration-to-send-385-million-to-states-to-offset-high-home-energy-costs/ar-AAWsb8z

[jimfields33]

1. Part of the infrastructure money?

Can’t there be a separate bill? We need every penny for bridges and roads. Not to mention buildings.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. This is what this part means (governmentese 101)

The $385 million is in addition to $4.5 billion that the American Rescue Plan provided to LIHEAP and the $500 million allocated by the bipartisan infrastructure law to the same program.

I.e., Congress, when drafting the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act explicitly added funds to LIHEAP in that bill (now law), so it is not being "reprogrammed" from whatever they allocated for infrastructure projects.

[madville]

16. Only about 10% of the Infrastructure Bill is for roads and bridges

Only about 10% of the Infrastructure Bill is allocated for roads and bridges, 110 billion out of the 1.2 trillion dollar bill.

[tavernier]

19. That's false

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/11/09/false-claim-that-only-11-percent-infrastructure-bill-goes-real-infrastructure/

[tavernier]

20. Washington Post article

About 20 percent of the new money — $110 billion — would be used to fund roads, bridges and other surface transportation programs. So, already, we are above 11 percent.
In English common use, the definition of “infrastructure,” or at least “public infrastructure,” has grown over time to encompass new inventions such as electricity, railways, and, more recently, broadband pipes and fibers. Although newer, these are still concrete-and-steel structures for transportation and wires and pipes for utilities.
On top of fixing bridges and roads, the bill allocates $39.2 billion for mass transit, $66 billion for passenger and freight rail, $25 billion for airport improvements and $17.3 billion for ports and inland waterways. That adds up to $147.5 billion.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. Excellent!

Let's hope the states can get the word out and distribute it in a timely fashion without too much hoop-jumping (some of which is obviously to guard against fraudulent claims).

[Walleye]

3. I hope the red-state governors don't reject it out of spite like they did with Medicaid

[BumRushDaShow]

5. I'm hunting through the 2700 or so pages to see where/how it was designated

But agree - you may have red states take those funds to try to use to plug budget holes.

[Probatim]

7. Or plug holes in the budgets of their donors.

You get a cut, you get a cut, everyone one of you gets a cut!!!

[BumRushDaShow]

8. Well if anything

the "earmarks" (literally line items of projects for each state and the amount of funding to be appropriated) are back so I was doing a deep dive as to what was allocated to PA.

What is fascinating is all the climate-related mandates that are in there.

The law's text is here - https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3684/text/pcs

[NQAS]

6. Now get the word out to the hinterlands (nt)

[NullTuples]

9. This is a taxpayer funded subsidy for the profiteering energy companies!

How about regulating prices instead?

Or putting the money toward grants to replace old equipment with stipulations so that low income people benefit from it?

Or anything that isn't just everyone paying the energy companies extra profit because they want to make more profit?

[Skittles]

10. indeed

it's like helping people pay for outrageous medical bills...nice, but solves nothing

[2naSalit]

13. +1

And LIHEAP is for low income not everyone. I have used it in the past and it was a life saver. I would liked to have this winter but I have >&7K in my savings acct. which disqualifies me. So I pay more than $125.00/mo for my electricity which includes heat. That's a lot on SSDI as an income.

[CountAllVotes]

11. LHEAP has been a lifesaver for me

Its a hassle getting it but this past year it has helped my household out a lot.

I hope they are able to send more help to those that qualify for it.

[2naSalit]

14. I've had it before and it helped a lot.

But my savings account has more than $7K in it so I was not able to use it this year when heating is really high this year.

[CountAllVotes]

17. Where I live some bills have been 3X the normal rate!

I guess the rich people living around here with their AirBnB's, can afford it. They are finding no one is even living in these places and bills as high as $1K a month!

I get quite a bit of help because of low income and having an illness that is affected by the temperature.

They used to give me two cords of wood when I lived further north. That was a real lifesaver!

& recommend.

[Emile]

12. Watch the red state governors funnel this money elsewhere!

[2naSalit]

15. +1

Montana has been trying everything from rerouting the $$ to just not dispensing it because it was designated for someone other than them.

The only social safety net programs in this state are federal programs, funded federally, or through nonprofit organizations who use private and federal funds. That's it.

[Snoopy 7]

18. dumb

when will he learn the red states will spend it on the rich while the blue will spend it on their people