The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP): Program and Funding

Publication Date: September 2006

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

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The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance program (LIHEAP), established in 1981 (P.L. 97-35), is a block grant program under which the federal government gives states and other jurisdictions annual grants to operate home energy assistance programs for low-income households. For FY2006, Congress twice appropriated funds for LIHEAP. First, Congress appropriated approximately $2.161 billion, of which $1.98 billion is regular funds (allotted to all states) and $181 million is emergency contingency funds (allotted to one or more states at the Administration's discretion). The funds were appropriated in the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act (P.L. 109-149).

Congress added funds to LIHEAP for FY2007 in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, P.L. 109-171, enacted February 8, 2006; Congress then made the funds available for FY2006 through S. 2320, which the President signed into law on March 20, 2006 (P.L. 109-204). The Deficit Reduction Act had appropriated $1 billion for LIHEAP for FY2007 -- $250 million for regular funds and $750 million for contingency funds. However, P.L. 109-204 changed the allocation of funds -- $500 million for regular funds and $500 million for contingency funds -- in addition to making them available for FY2006. Thus, a total of $3.161 billion was appropriated for LIHEAP for FY2006, $2.48 billion for regular funds and $681 million for contingency funds.

The President's budget proposed $1.782 billion for LIHEAP in FY2007, all of which would be allocated to regular funds. On June 20, 2006, the House Appropriations Committee reported H.R. 5647, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act for FY2007, which would provide $1.93 billion in regular LIHEAP funds and $181 million in contingency funds. The Senate Appropriations Committee's version of the Appropriations Act (S. 3708) would provide $1.98 billion in regular funds and $181 million in contingency funds.

The Administration has made three contingency fund distributions. The most recent occurred on September 12, 2006, when just under $80 million was distributed to 14 states for winter heating needs. In two previous distributions, the Administration released $600 million in contingency funds: of this amount, $500 million went to 25 states on March 24, 2006, and on January 5, 2006, $100 million went to all states, the District of Columbia, and the territories. Approximately $21 million in contingency funds remains available. (See Table 2.)

In FY2004, the most current year for which data is available, some 5.0 million households received LIHEAP heating/winter crisis assistance, with an average benefit of $277, compared with an estimated 4.8 million households in FY2003. Approximately 308,000 households received cooling aid in FY2004 and 88,000 received summer crisis assistance (compared to 493,000 and 71,000 in FY2003). The average cooling/summer crisis benefit was $192. This report will be updated as legislative or program activities warrant.