HR 350 — A Resolution urging the President and Congress of the United States to maintain funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program known as LIHEAP.

PRINTER'S NO.   2488

                  THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



           HOUSE RESOLUTION
              No. 350
                                                Session of
                                                  2025

     INTRODUCED BY FIEDLER, MATZIE, HILL-EVANS, SCHLOSSBERG, PIELLI,
        WAXMAN, TAKAC, PROBST, GIRAL, KINKEAD, RIVERA, NEILSON,
        MERSKI, GALLAGHER, SANCHEZ, K.HARRIS, HOHENSTEIN, CAUSER,
        CIRESI, PARKER, D. WILLIAMS, SMITH-WADE-EL, KRAJEWSKI,
        FREEMAN, STEELE, HOWARD, RABB, BOROWSKI, FRANKEL, DOUGHERTY,
        INGLIS, CURRY AND BOYD, OCTOBER 21, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENERGY, OCTOBER 21, 2025


                                 A RESOLUTION
 1   Urging the President and Congress of the United States to
 2      maintain funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance
 3      Program known as LIHEAP.
 4      WHEREAS, Energy assistance programs in the United States date
 5   back to the 1970s, when they were created as a response to
 6   rising energy costs amid the 1973 oil crisis, and the Low Income
 7   Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) was subsequently
 8   established by Congress in 1981; and
 9      WHEREAS, LIHEAP funding is now annually administered to all
10   50 states and Washington, DC, supporting families in the coldest
11   winters of the Northeast, the hottest summers of the South and
12   through other extreme weather across the country; and
13      WHEREAS, Increasingly frequent extreme weather events
14   worsened by climate change necessitate use of household heating
15   and cooling systems for the safety of Pennsylvanians and
16   Americans everywhere; and
 1         WHEREAS, LIHEAP offers short-term assistance for winter
 2   heating bills, as well as crisis grants to fix broken heaters,
 3   buy fuel, avoid shutoffs and restore terminated service; and
 4         WHEREAS, LIHEAP can also cover weatherization for low-income
 5   homes to improve energy efficiency and thus lower future energy
 6   costs; and
 7         WHEREAS, Since energy costs are rising due to increased
 8   energy usage, one in five Pennsylvania households report
 9   problems paying their bills and close to 200,000 Pennsylvania
10   households have experienced a gas or electric shutoff in 2025;
11   and
12         WHEREAS, Over the last year's program cycle, nationwide
13   LIHEAP distributed nearly $4 billion to assist roughly 6 million
14   low-income households struggling to pay their energy bills; and
15         WHEREAS, The Federal Government allocated to the Commonwealth
16   approximately $229 million in LIHEAP funding for the 2024-2025
17   program year alone and served more than 302,000 Pennsylvania
18   households, more than 128,000 of which received winter crisis
19   assistance; and
20         WHEREAS, In the same program year, 46% of LIHEAP payments in
21   this Commonwealth went to households with members 60 years of
22   age or older, 28% went to households with members with
23   disabilities and 17% went to households with children younger
24   than 5 years of age; and
25         WHEREAS, On April 2, 2025, President Trump laid off all
26   Federal staff responsible for administering LIHEAP, has called
27   the program unnecessary and has proposed zero funding in his
28   fiscal year 2026 Federal budget; and
29         WHEREAS, If LIHEAP funds are eliminated indefinitely, the
30   Commonwealth would face pressure to continue the program with

20250HR0350PN2488                    - 2 -
 1   millions in State funding and utilities could attempt to recoup
 2   lost income by raising bills for other ratepayers; and
 3      WHEREAS, The program enjoys bipartisan support and is viewed
 4   favorably by utilities, industry groups and organizations,
 5   including the Energy Association of Pennsylvania and the
 6   American Gas Association, which recognizes that the program
 7   keeps people safe; and
 8      WHEREAS, This will only serve to hurt Pennsylvania families,
 9   who in the absence of LIHEAP funds may face utility shutoffs,
10   mounting debt or who may forgo other necessary expenses to pay
11   their heating bills; and
12      WHEREAS, The Commonwealth has in recent years used LIHEAP
13   funding to pilot a cooling program in the summer which provides
14   low-income Pennsylvanians with free air conditioners and that
15   program was already discontinued this summer due to lack of
16   Federal funding; and
17      WHEREAS, In the absence of LIHEAP funds, low-income
18   households with seniors, children and members with disabilities
19   may rely on dangerous electric space heaters or ovens to warm
20   their homes or be left to suffer extreme temperatures with no
21   heating or cooling at risk of serious illness or death;
22   therefore be it
23      RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
24   Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge the President and Congress of
25   the United States to permanently reinstate Federal LIHEAP
26   employees and increase funding for the program in the fiscal
27   year 2026 budget and every budget to come; and be it further
28      RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
29   the presiding officers of each house of Congress and each member
30   of Congress from Pennsylvania.

20250HR0350PN2488                 - 3 -