Trump administration poised to eliminate energy assistance program

DULUTH Minn Mary Heilman and her husband in the last few days received a bill to fix their boiler As retirees living on a tight budget Heilman disclosed it s hard enough to keep their propane tanks filled in the grueling Northland winters So they were relieved when the Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency stepped in and covered the costs of the repair Without strength assistance there s no way we could be in our home the Makinen resident announced We own our house we own our property but we can t even keep up with taxes and stuff The Heilmans are among more than Minnesota households that received help last winter with monthly heating bills and or crisis services through the state s Potency Assistance Project But federal funding for the initiative appears to be on the chopping block state and local functionaries warned Last month U S Medical and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr abruptly fired the entire staff responsible for managing the campaign and the Trump administration has proposed to eliminate its billion budget The average benefit for households this year has been just over and those funds make a big difference in people s lives Minnesota Commerce Commissioner Grace Arnold mentioned Monday Without capacity assistance thousands of Minnesotans would face higher ability costs And beyond that she reported they would be at liability for having their utilities shut off in winter receiving no help if their furnace breaks and they have no heat in the middle of winter or being forced to choose between heating their homes and buying groceries or medicine Residents of the th Congressional District spend an average of of their household income on vitality the highest in the state according to Department of Commerce facts Northeastern Minnesota also has the highest overall capacity costs and the highest share of households receiving exigency benefits Annie Levenson-Falk executive director of the Citizens Utility Board disclosed her advocacy organization tracked households that had electric or gas utility disconnected by regulated utilities for nonpayment in a record number that does not even include customers of rural cooperatives and municipal utilities or those who can t afford to refill propane tanks She added that nearly half of households receiving assistance have a person over in have a person with a disability and have a child under age This figure has been persistently high since the pandemic Levenson-Falk mentioned compounded by the cost of housing and inflation throughout the family budget Vitality is unaffordable for too various Minnesotans AEOA surveys residents receiving benefits according to force assistance coordinator Jean Pelletier and has ascertained that plenty of are retired on Social Safety and or have been left in dire financial situations as a product of circumstances such as the death of a spouse We may be able to resolve these life-threatening situations when funding is available she declared but if Low Income Home Vitality Assistance Effort funding is cut there will not be options to help our region members in need and there are likely people that will not be able to stay in their homes The state initiative is entirely funded by the federal effort Arnold reported and Minnesota stands to lose about million annually if funding is eliminated She noted the project also helps keep costs down across the board as unpaid bills end in costs being passed on to other customers Advocates of LIHEAP urged Congress to maintain the campaign which has for decades received broad bipartisan endorsement and helps roughly million people nationally offset the costs of both heating and air conditioning Related Articles Your Money Latest hindrances a woman s guide to building wealth Your Money Checklist spring clean your finances Your Money Simplifying your financial life Your Money The -year career How to plan for a longer work life Your Money Does deregulation help or hurt commitment outcomes