June 17, 2026
A U.S. House committee on June 11 approved a bill that would increase funding for a federal program that helps low- and fixed-income families cover HVAC-related expenses.
Catch up quick: The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) assists over six million households a year with utility bills, weatherization projects, and HVAC repairs and replacements via grants that flow through states to local agencies, which then pay participating contractors.
The Trump administration proposed eliminating the program several times over the past year; however, in February 2026, Congress passed — and the president signed into law — a bill funding LIHEAP at $4.045 billion through Sept. 30.
What’s happening: Last week’s measure, approved by the House Appropriations Committee, would preserve LIHEAP for the upcoming fiscal year, beginning Oct. 1, and increase its budget by $10 million to $4.055 billion.
The big picture: The approval underscores the continued back-and-forth over LIHEAP, which draws bipartisan support in Congress but remains a target of the Trump administration.
Despite the president signing the February bill funding LIHEAP through Sept. 30, the administration’s fiscal-2027 budget request, released in April, proposed eliminating the program again — its sixth attempt.
What they’re saying: “LIHEAP is unnecessary because States have policies preventing utility disconnection for low-income households, effectively making LIHEAP a passthrough benefiting utility companies, particularly in the Northeast,” the administration wrote in April.
“The program rewards States such as New York and California, two of the top recipients for LIHEAP funding, which have implemented anti-energy and anti-consumer policies that drive up home energy prices,” it added.
The other side: “The assertion that LIHEAP is unnecessary due to state shut-off protections ignores how the program operates,” the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA) said in response. “LIHEAP serves households nationwide.”
“Seasonal protections only delay disconnections — they do not eliminate debt. Once moratoriums end, families must still pay accumulated balances,” it added.
“While the proposal highlights specific states, more than half of LIHEAP funding supports states that voted for President Trump in 2024.”
Looking ahead: The bill needs to pass the full House, while the Senate writes and passes its own version, before a final reconciled bill reaches the president’s desk.
Source: https://homepros.news/house-committee-moves-to-boost-funding-for-low-income-hvac-program/