Denver, CO – With temperatures dipping into the single digits this week, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet announced today that help is on the way for Colorado families struggling to pay their heating bills this winter. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released $50 million in Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) block grant funds for Colorado to help eligible low-income homeowners and renters meet home energy costs.
The funding is part of $1.6 billion released nationwide and comes on the heels of a bipartisan letter Bennet and 36 of his Senate colleagues sent Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urging them to extend LIHEAP funding through September 2011 to help millions of families nationwide struggling with severe cold weather, rising oil prices, and a difficult economy. Without this release of funds prompted by the letter, the federal share of LEAP funds in Colorado would’ve been cut by nearly 40 percent this winter.
“The recent snow storms and freezing temperatures we’ve experienced in Colorado this week are a reminder that reliable heating is not something we should take for granted,” Bennet said. “Families that are working hard to make ends meet as we recover from this difficult economy shouldn’t have to choose between the grocery bill and the heating bill. With months more of winter still ahead, I will continue to fight to ensure Coloradans have what they need to keep themselves and their kids warm during these tough times.”
“Release of these funds is welcome news to low-income residents in Colorado during this cold snap,” said George Kennedy, Interim Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Human Services. “Senator Bennet’s leadership was instrumental in securing these funds for Colorado families struggling to pay their heating bills this winter.”
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is designed to assist low-income households that pay a high proportion of household income for home energy, primarily in meeting their immediate home energy needs. LIHEAP funds are dispersed in Colorado by the state’s Low-Income Heating Assistance Program (LEAP) within the Colorado Department of Human Services.