Government shutdown threatens to delay home heating aid for millions of low-income families

By Susan Haigh and Marc Levy The Associated Press HARTFORD Conn Jacqueline Chapman is a retired school aide who relies on a monthly Social Prevention check to get by She was navigating the loss of her federal food aid benefits when she learned the assistance she receives for heating her Philadelphia apartment may also be at pitfall I feel like I m living in scary times It s not easy to rest when you know you have things to do with limited accounts limited funds There isn t too much you can do announced Chapman Chapman relies on the billion Low-Income Home Vigor Assistance Initiative which helps millions of low-income households pay to heat and cool their homes With temperatures beginning to drop in areas across the United States various states are warning that funding for the effort is being delayed because of the federal establishment shutdown now in its fifth week The anticipated delay comes as a majority of the million households served by the federally funded heating and cooling assistance operation are grappling with the sudden postponement of benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Activity or SNAP which helps about in Americans buy groceries Money is running out for other safety net programs as well and potency prices are soaring The impact even if it s temporary on various of the nation s poor families is going to be profound if we don t solve this trouble mentioned Mark Wolfe executive director of the National Potential Assistance Directors Association which represents state directors of the activity Commonly called LIHEAP it serves all states the District of Columbia U S territories and federally recognized tribes These are significant income supports that are all potentially heading toward a cliff at the same time Wolfe declared And I can t point to a similar time in up-to-date history where we ve had this States are warning applicants about a funding delay LIHEAP created in assists families in covering utility bills or the cost of paying for fuels delivered to homes such as home heating oil It has received bipartisan congressional advocacy for decades States manage the project They receive an allotment of federal money each year based on a formula that largely takes into account state weather patterns capacity costs and low-income population evidence While President Donald Trump proposed zero funding for the activity in his budget it was anticipated that Congress would fund LIHEAP for the budget year that began Oct But since Congress has not yet passed a full spending bill states have not gotten their new allocations yet Related Articles Trump says China s Xi has assured him that he won t take action on Taiwan during Republican s term Trump administration posts notice that no federal food aid will go out Nov The East Wing of the White House is gone Here s a look at particular of the history made there Trump ramps up retribution campaign with push for Bondi to pursue cases against his foes Political leaders confront shield concerns and fear after Charlie Kirk s assassination Various states including Kansas Pennsylvania New York and Minnesota have publicized their LIHEAP programs are being delayed by the leadership shutdown In Pennsylvania Democratic Gov Josh Shapiro s administration commented it cannot front the million-plus in federal LIHEAP aid it had expected to help pay heating bills for certain low-income households It is predicting payments will not go out until at least December instead of November as is customary Minnesota s potential assistance effort is processing applications but the state s Department of Commerce mentioned federal LIHEAP dollars will likely be delayed by a month The agency does not plan to pay recipients heating bills until the shutdown ends As temperatures begin to drop this delay could have serious impacts the agency commented The effort services households both homeowners and renters that include multiple older adults young children and people with disabilities Connecticut has enough money to set aside to pay heating bills through at least the end of November or December according to the group that helps administer LIHEAP But the project faces uncertainty if the shutdown persists Connecticut lawmakers are considering covering the cost temporarily with state budget reserves The situation will get much more perilous for folks who do need those information as we move later into the heating season noted Rhonda Evans executive director of the Connecticut Association for Locality Action More than households were served last year A spokesperson for the U S Department of Healthcare and Human Services which oversees the assistance operation blamed the federal shutdown and the delay in LIHEAP payments on congressional Democrats and disclosed the Trump administration is committed to reopening the regime Once the ruling body reopens ACF will work swiftly to administer annual awards the spokesperson disclosed referring to the Administration for Children and Families an agency within HHS The spokesperson did not directly answer whether the timing could be affected by the administration s earlier decision to fire workers who run the LIHEAP project Wolfe from the group that represents state activity directors predicts there could be delays into January He noted there are questions over who will approve states scheme plans and how the money will be circulated when it becomes available Once you ve fired the staff things just slow down he explained Low-income families face mounting obstacles Chapman the retired school aide may be eligible for a operation through her gas utility to prevent being shut off this winter But the roughly of LIHEAP recipients who rely on deliverable fuels such as heating oil kerosene propane and wood pellets typically do not have such protections Electric and natural gas companies are usually regulated by the state and can be explained not to shut people off while the state waits to receive its share of the LIHEAP money Wolfe reported But it is different when it involves a small oil or propane company fuels more common in the Northeast If you re a heating oil dealer we can t tell that dealer Look continue to provide heating oil to your low-income customers on the possibility you ll get your money back Wolfe stated Mark Bain who lives in Bloomfield Connecticut with his son a candidate at the University of Connecticut started receiving financial assistance for his home heating oil demands three years ago I remember the first winter before I knew about this plan I was desperate I was on fumes stated Bains who is retired and relies on income from Social Safeguard and a small annuity I was calling around to my social services people to find out what I could do He has been approved this year for in assistance but he has a half tank of oil left and cannot call for more until it is nearly empty By that point he is hoping there will be enough federal money left to fill it He typically requirements three deliveries to get through a winter Bains mentioned he can get by if he does not receive the help this year I would turn the heat down to like degrees and throw on another blanket you know just to get through he declared Levy published from Harrisburg Pennsylvania Associated Press writers Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis John Hanna in Topeka Kan and Jack Dura in Bismarck N D contributed to this summary Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter The Spot