WASHINGTON, DC – In an effort to help more Rhode Islanders reduce their home energy costs, U.S. Senator Jack Reed today announced that Rhode Island is getting an additional $2.6 million through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), after the Trump Administration finally released the remaining $400 million in LIHEAP aid this week to states nationwide.

Reed, a member of the Appropriations Committee, helped provide a nationwide total of $4.1 billion for LIHEAP in FY 2025.

LIHEAP is a federally funded program that helps low-income households with their home energy bills by providing payment and energy crisis assistance to pay for gas, electric, and other methods customers use to heat their homes. 

This latest allocation brings Rhode Island’s FY 2025 appropriation for LIHEAP up to $26.6 million so far this year.

Last October, the Biden Administration released ninety percent of LIHEAP funds to states to give states time to properly plan and deploy these funds through the end of the fiscal year, which runs through September of 2025.  This included an allocation of $534,784 in LIHEAP funds that Senator Reed helped include through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

“This latest infusion of federal LIHEAP funding will provide overdue support to families in need and help them cope with high energy costs.  In addition to easing the strain on household budgets, the release of LIHEAP funds also helps local small businesses that supply home heating fuel to customers with fixed or limited incomes,” said Senator Reed.

LIHEAP is administered by states and accessed through local Community Action Agencies.  Eligibility for LIHEAP is based on income, family size, and the availability of resources.

Nationwide, an estimated 6 million households received assistance with heating and cooling costs through LIHEAP over the last year, including over 28,200 Rhode Island households.

The average LIHEAP benefit covering about $500 in winter home heating costs for Rhode Islanders.

Rhode Islanders wishing to apply for LIHEAP may click here to reach the Rhode Island Department of Human Services website to get more information and links to an online application. 

Senator Reed noted that while the release of these federal funds to states is good news, he remains deeply concerned about the Trump Administration decimating the LIHEAP staff at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the impact that could have on the federal government’s ability to effectively manage the program and assist states with LIHEAP going forward.  Reed says he has no doubt that President Trump will once again try to eliminate LIHEAP altogether but vowed to work on a bipartisan basis to include LIHEAP funding in future Appropriations laws, just as he successfully did during the first Trump Administration.