Trump’s layoffs freeze $380 million in energy aid as extreme heat looms
Millions of Americans may face sweltering conditions this summer without access to federal cooling assistance,after the Trump administration laid off staff who managed a critical energy aid program for low-income households.
Naveena Sadasivam reports for Grist.
In short:
- The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a federal program that helps low-income households afford heating and cooling, is in jeopardy after the Department of Health and Human Services laid off staff overseeing the program.
- Although Congress approved $4.1 billion for LIHEAP this year, $378 million remains unspent because there’s no staff to distribute the funds; at least 10,000 employees were laid off in early April, including the LIHEAP team.
- As heatwaves become more frequent and severe, states like Arizona, Texas, and Washington rely heavily on LIHEAP to support year-round cooling needs.
Key quote:
“If LIHEAP were to disappear, people would die in their homes. That’s the most critical issue. It saves people.”
— Katrina Metzler, executive director of the National Energy and Utility Affordability Coalition
Why this matters:
As global temperatures rise, heat is quickly becoming the deadliest form of extreme weather in the United States, and cooling assistance can mean the difference between life and death. Yet LIHEAP is being hobbled not by a lack of funding — Congress has already allocated money — but by a shortage of administrative staff to distribute it in the wake of staff cuts. As local agencies struggle to process applications or even open cooling centers in time for record-breaking early-season heat waves, the stakes are clear: Public health protections are lagging behind the realities of a warming world, and the United States' fragmented response to climate change is leaving vulnerable communities exposed.
Related: Half a billion children face increasingly extreme heat
