HHS cuts staff in charge of helping 6M Americans keep utilities on
For more than 6 million low-income Americans, it could be a cruel summer after Health and Human Services closed the office responsible for providing utility assistance.
HHS laid off the entire staff of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Monday morning, said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, which represents state governments in federal programs to help low-income families pay water, heating, and cooling bills.
The double-digit number of people laid off may be a small fraction of the 10,000 total layoffs at HHS, but LIHEAP provides heating and cooling assistance to about 6.2 million very low-income households. Without assistance, those people may not be able to pay their bills and end up sweltering in the summer heat and freezing all winter or even dying.
“Just when I thought the news couldn’t get worse!” Wolfe wrote in an email to USA Today. “The federal LIHEAP was completely closed.”
When might people feel the cuts?
In a few short months, people may literally start feeling the heat from HHS’ move, Wolfe said.
Here’s why, he said:
- LIHEAP received about $4.1 billion in funding for FY25. HHS released 90% of those funds in October.
- The remaining 10%, or about $378 million, used by states to pay for summer cooling, and emergency funding for households that need additional assistance and weatherization, cannot be released until HHS determines the state-by-state allocation. “The person responsible for making the calculations was also laid off Monday morning,” Wolfe said. “My concern is that the Administration could say that without an allocation or staff to oversee the funding, they cannot distribute the $378 million to the states.”
What are the risks?
Many people are in danger of utilities shutting off their power this summer and, in the future, if LIHEAP is closed permanently. Only 17 states and the District of Columbia provide consumers with some summer shut-off protections, Wolfe said.
And 12% of households below the poverty line don’t have any air conditioning, the Brookings Institure said in 2022.
“In less extreme situations, a family can ride out a hot day by opening their windows, taking a cool shower, and hoping it cools down at night,” Wolfe said. “But when the heat persists for weeks, or the outside air is dangerous, opening a window will only make things worse.”
Heat-related deaths are rising. In 2023, a record number of people died from the record heat, according to an AP analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Death certificates of more than 2,300 people who died in the U.S. that summer mention the effects of excessive heat, the highest number in 45 years of records, the analysis said.
This story was updated with more current data.
Medora Lee is a money, markets and personal finance reporter at Paste BN. You can reach her at mjlee@usatoday.com and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning.