Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today announced that Tennessee was awarded $82.2 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.

The total funding of $4.49 billion for all 50 states and U.S. territories announced today includes an additional $1 billion appropriated by Congress to address rising energy costs, as well as $100 million appropriated for 2023 from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) that only Congressman Cohen and Congressman Jim Cooper (TN-05) in the Tennessee Congressional delegation voted for. For Tennessee, the regular block grant funding amounts to $64.8 million, the supplemental funding is $16.6 million and the IIJA funding is $1.7 million.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

“LIHEAP serves millions of households, including many in Memphis, with covering the cost of heating, cooling, and weatherization services. This funding will help many families stay safe and warm this winter while creating good-paying jobs for those providing these critical services.”

The additional $1 billion funding secured by Congress will provide even more home energy assistance to people in Tennessee. As winter approaches, funding for LIHEAP is extremely important. This program is crucial for protecting the health and wellbeing of households in Tennessee.

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.  

Original source can be found here.