# Heating and Cooling Relief Act: What It Means for You

This bill aims to dramatically expand federal assistance for low-income households struggling to pay their heating and cooling bills. Right now, only about 16 percent of eligible low-income families actually receive help through the existing Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), even though many more qualify. The bill proposes a massive increase in funding—from the current $2 billion to $400 billion over ten years—to help far more families afford to keep their homes at safe temperatures.

The bill addresses a real problem: low-income families spend roughly three times more of their income on energy bills than other households. According to recent government surveys, about half of families earning less than $35,000 a year have had to skip buying food or medicine just to pay an energy bill. Beyond the hardship, losing access to heating or cooling can lead to eviction or homelessness, and extreme temperatures can pose serious health risks, especially for children and elderly people. The bill also recognizes that climate change is making this worse, with heat waves becoming longer and more intense while winters bring more severe cold snaps.

To make the program actually reach people who need it, the bill removes several barriers to getting help. States would no longer be allowed to require applicants to prove their income, citizenship, or specific need for assistance—instead, people could simply declare they qualify. The bill also expands who counts as eligible, allowing households earning up to 250 percent of the poverty line (or 80 percent of state median income) to receive help, and it lets households qualify if they spend 3 percent or more of their income on energy bills. Additionally, the bill ensures that someone who gets heating help in winter can still receive cooling assistance in summer, and it removes requirements that people prove a medical need for air conditioning.

The bill also creates new funding specifically for cooling assistance during heat waves and requires federal agencies to provide emergency heating and cooling help when the President declares a disaster or emergency. States would receive grants to help residents respond to extreme heat events, and the bill encourages the use of energy-efficient cooling equipment. To get more people signed up, the bill pushes states to work with schools, utility companies, and community organizations to spread the word about available assistance.

Heating and Cooling Relief Act

Bowman, Jamaal

Heating and Cooling Relief Act This bill provides additional energy assistance to households, including heating and cooling assistance. Specifically, the bill reauthorizes through FY2032 and revises the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Under the existing program, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may award grants to states for assisting low-income households that pay a high proportion of their income for home energy. To be eligible under the existing program, households must have incomes which do not exceed the greater of an amount equal to 150% of the poverty level for their state or an amount equal to 60% of the state median income. The bill expands eligibility to households with incomes which do not exceed the greater of an amount equal to 250% of the poverty line as defined in the Community Services Block Grant Act or an amount equal to 80% of the state median income. In addition, the bill expands eligibility to households with a monthly energy burden of 3% or more per year. It also requires states to establish procedures to protect households receiving assistance under the program from energy shutoffs and certain late fees. In addition, the bill requires HHS and the Department of Energy to jointly carry out a program that awards grants to states and local governments for developing and implementing interagency plans to reduce energy burdens for eligible households with high home energy use. The plans must promote the reduction of energy from fossil fuels.