Trump administration poised to eliminate energy assistance program

DULUTH Minn Mary Heilman and her husband in recent days received a bill to fix their boiler As retirees living on a tight budget Heilman noted 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 capacity assistance there s no way we could be in our home the Makinen resident disclosed 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 exigency services through the state s Ability Assistance Project But federal funding for the initiative appears to be on the chopping block state and local agents warned Last month U S Physical condition and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr abruptly fired the entire staff responsible for managing the undertaking 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 potential assistance thousands of Minnesotans would face higher resource costs And beyond that she declared they would be at hazard 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 figures Northeastern Minnesota also has the highest overall strength costs and the highest share of households receiving emergency benefits Annie Levenson-Falk executive director of the Citizens Utility Board disclosed her advocacy organization tracked households that had electric or gas facility 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 announced compounded by the cost of housing and inflation throughout the family budget Vigor is unaffordable for too a multitude of Minnesotans AEOA surveys residents receiving benefits according to vigor assistance coordinator Jean Pelletier and has identified that a large number of are retired on Social Shield 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 disclosed but if Low Income Home Potential Assistance Activity funding is cut there will not be options to help our district 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 initiative Arnold declared 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 impact in costs being passed on to other customers Advocates of LIHEAP urged Congress to maintain the scheme which has for decades received broad bipartisan encouragement and helps roughly million people nationally offset the costs of both heating and air conditioning Related Articles Your Money Urgent obstructions 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 venture outcomes