Vermont Congressional delegation demands reinstatement of workers at federal heating assistance program
In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy, Vermont's three-member Congressional delegation says the Trump Administration has 'a moral responsibility' to continue funding the program that helps 26,000 low-income Vermont households pay for heat.
Senators Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch and U.S. Representative Becca Balint are calling on the Department of Health and Human Services to 'immediately reinstate' the staff of the Division of Energy Assistance, which manages the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program or LIHEAP.
LIHEAP helps 6.2 million Americans, including more than 26,000 Vermonters, afford heat and air conditioning. Vermont receives around $20 million in LIHEAP funding annually.
Vermont gets additional $28 million to heat low-income households this winter
Last week, the Trump administration laid off the entire staff of the $4.1 billion program, stunning state officials who've been waiting to receive millions of dollars in outstanding federal payments.
Sanders, Welch and Balint said the firings threaten the continued existence of LIHEAP and would eliminate a 'crucial lifeline' for low-income seniors and families. They said nearly 1 in 4 Vermont households report not being able to pay their energy bills in full and that tariffs on Canadian energy products threaten to drive utility bills even higher.
'The Administration must reinstate DEA staff immediately and continue to disburse Congressionally-appropriated LIHEAP funding to states so that thousands of Vermonters and millions of Americans are not forced to make the unacceptable choice between putting food on the table, paying for prescription drugs, or heating their homes in the winter,' wrote the delegation.
The roughly two dozen workers who ran the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program were among roughly 10,000 people fired as part of a dramatic restructuring of the Department of Health and Human Services.
The program had already delivered the bulk of its aid to the states for this fiscal year but had yet to distribute $378 million. A spokesperson for the agency said it would continue to meet its legal obligations and the reorganization would leave it better positioned to 'to execute on Congress's statutory intent.'
The delegation's letter to Kennedy said failing to fund the ;program would put millions of households at risk of energy insecurity.
'The administration has a moral responsibility to disburse LIHEAP funds to states and ensure the program lives up to its promise to help families keep the heat on,' the letter said. 'Being able to heat your home is not a luxury. It is a matter of life and death.'
The Associated Press contributed to this report.Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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