WASHINGTON DC – U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) joined Senate colleagues in a letter demanding that the Trump Administration reinstate federal workers who run a federal program that helps lower home cooling and heating costs for hardworking families. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) allows families with children and seniors on fixed incomes to stay cool in the extremely hot summers and warm in the winter. This month, every single worker who helps administer this critically important program was arbitrarily fired by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
“Last year, LIHEAP provided over 6 million American households with the assistance they needed to heat their homes during extremely cold winters and to keep air conditioners running in the soaring heat,” wrote the Senators. “Without this bipartisan program, Americans throughout the country would be forced to make the unacceptable choice between putting food on the table, paying for prescription drugs, or heating their homes in the winter.”
“Therefore, we urge you to immediately reinstate all of the LIHEAP staff that were terminated, reopen the Division of Energy Assistance (DEA) that administers this program, and disburse all of the LIHEAP funds that Congress has appropriated,” the Senators’ letter continued. “Being able to heat your home in the freezing cold and keep the air condition on in the extreme heat is not a luxury. It is a matter of life and death.”
The full letter can be found HERE.
For nearly 45 years, LIHEAP has helped families across Nevada pay home cooling bills in the summer and heating bills in the winter, and prevent energy shutoffs, restore services, make energy-related home repairs, and make homes more energy efficient. Rising energy costs have made this assistance even more important for working families, seniors, and people with disabilities. According to the Census Bureau, more than 23 percent of households report that they were unable to pay their energy bills in full last year.
###
