"With temperatures beginning to drop in areas across the United States, some states are warning that funding for the program is being delayed because of the federal government shutdown, now in its fifth week. The anticipated delay comes as a majority of the 5.9 million households served by the federally funded heating and cooling assistance program are grappling with the sudden postponement of benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which helps about 1 in 8 Americans buy groceries."
""The impact, even if it's temporary, on many of the nation's poor families is going to be profound if we don't solve this problem," said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, which represents state directors of the program. Commonly called LIHEAP, it serves all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories and federally recognized tribes. "These are important income supports that are all potentially heading toward a cliff at the same time," Wolfe said. "And I can't point to a similar time in recent history where we've had this.""
Jacqueline Chapman, 74, depends on a $630 monthly Social Security check and LIHEAP heating aid while losing federal food aid. LIHEAP is a $4.1 billion program that helps millions of low-income households pay to heat and cool their homes. The federal government shutdown, now in its fifth week, is delaying LIHEAP funding in some states as temperatures fall. The delay coincides with SNAP benefit postponements affecting millions and with dwindling resources for other safety-net programs amid rising energy prices, creating significant risk for poor families.
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