Press Releases

MASSACHUSETTS’ SECOND DISTRICT—With cold weather on the horizon, Congressman James P. McGovern (MA-02) announced today that Massachusetts has been awarded $159 million in funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Administered through the Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, this funding will help low-income individuals and families pay for home heating costs this winter and cover unpaid utility bills. These funds will also help families make cost-effective home energy repairs to lower their heating and cooling bills.

“LIHEAP has been essential to ensuring that Massachusetts families can stary warm during the winter,” said McGovern. “As Big Oil continues to rip off consumers and the war in Ukraine continues to drive up energy costs, our delegation requested an expedited release of home heating assistance, and I’m proud to see this huge amount of funding moving quickly into the hands of folks who need it.”

Democrats in Congress allocated an additional $1 billion nationwide to address rising energy costs and another $100 million through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—providing an additional cushion of home energy assistance for Massachusetts households.

“Our number one priority is working to lower costs and getting money into the pockets of working families, and that’s what this LIHEAP funding will do for thousands of households across the Commonwealth,” added McGovern.

The $158.9 million awarded to Massachusetts includes $118 million from regular LIHEAP funding, an extra $36 million in supplemental funding from Congress, and $3.7 million in funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

For more than 40 years, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) has provided federally funded assistance to help individuals and families maintain safe and healthy indoor temperatures. LIHEAP helps low-income households pay home heating and cooling bills, prevent energy shutoffs, restore services, make minor energy-related home repairs, and weatherize homes to make them more energy efficient. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the release of $4,492,719,317 through LIHEAP to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, three territories, and more than 125 tribes. Individuals interested in applying for energy assistance can visit energyhelp.us or call the National Energy Assistance Referral (NEAR) hotline toll-free at 1-866-674-6327.  

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