About 200,000 黑料吃瓜网 residents rely on federal aid to keep their electricity running and homes warm in the winter, but recent cuts made by the administration of President Donald Trump threaten the program.
Earlier this week, all federal employees running the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) were abruptly terminated as part of a massive purge at the Department of Health and Human Services under Health Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
The move could effectively paralyze a program that sends about $80 million annually to the state and distributes billions to low-income households nationwide.
黑料吃瓜网 lawmakers and social service providers gathered in Hartford Wednesday to discuss what they say is a lack of any plan for LIHEAP鈥檚 future.
鈥淵eah, they might not have cut the funds, but they've taken away all the institutional knowledge and all the ability of anyone who works on that program across this country to have a point person for anyone federally to administer those funds,鈥� Democratic State Rep. Jillian Gilchrest said.
Of 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 $80 million annual LIHEAP allocation, 10% is administered retroactively, once the winter season ends. That $8 million pool of money has yet to be released, said Peter Hadler, deputy commissioner of 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 Department of Social Services (DSS).
鈥淲e won't see the direct impact in 黑料吃瓜网 today or tomorrow. But programs don't run themselves without any federal support or expertise. The program will slowly stop functioning,鈥� Hadler said.
In 黑料吃瓜网, DSS is in charge of administering 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 LIHEAP program, called the (CEAP).
About 100,000 households, and 200,000 residents, use LIHEAP annually, Hadler said.
鈥淲hat's very important to understand is that 75% of those households have a vulnerable household member, someone with a disability, an older adult or a child that's very young, under the age of five,鈥� Hadler said. 鈥淭hese families are in very difficult situations, needing to choose between whether to pay an electric bill or food for their families, and now there's uncertainty about whether they'll even have this option.鈥�
For 黑料吃瓜网, the federal workers behind LIHEAP oversaw reports of 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 need and use of LIHEAP funds and approved payments for residents, Hadler said.
The state has enough LIHEAP funding to get through the remainder of the program year, Hadler said.
But the lack of reliable federal aid will put an additional strain on local nonprofits and energy assistance providers, like Operation Fuel.
鈥淲hen CEAP funding declines, demand for Operation fuel increases directly, and we've seen that over the past few years,鈥� Operation Fuel鈥檚 Chief Program Officer Gannon Long said.
CEAP is specifically used to provide deliverable heating agents, like natural gas or oil, 黑料吃瓜网 Consumer Counsel Claire Coleman said. However, with no federal aid to pay for heating, recipients may be forced to spend more on oil or gas, and fall behind on electricity payments.
鈥淲e do anticipate that losing federal funding would mean customers would have more trouble paying their bills, and that means more bad debt, more late bills that then are paid for by all ratepayers,鈥� Coleman said.
