Program That Helps New Yorkers Pay Winter Heating Bills Delayed by Federal Shutdown, Gov. Says

Nearly million New York City households relied on the Low Income Home Power Assistance Scheme LIHEAP last winter to help afford their heating costs more than any other region in the state Applications for this year s benefits are on hold indefinitely until federal funding resumes agents explained The delay comes as household strength costs are rising advocates say Adi Talwar City Limits A initiative that helps low-income New Yorkers pay for heating in the winter is on hold because of the federal executive shutdown state officers released Wednesday at a time when several households are already behind on or struggling to pay for their force bills Nearly million New York City households relied on the Low-Income Home Strength Assistance Effort known as LIHEAP or HEAP last winter to help afford their vitality costs more than any other region in the state Applications for this season were supposed to open Nov but are being delayed for at least a limited weeks or until the federal authorities reopens and reallocates funding Gov Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday Thanks to Washington Republicans leadership shutdown hundreds of thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers are about to be left in the cold Hochul revealed in a announcement By refusing to open the cabinet and delaying heating assistance funding Republicans are once again willfully turning their backs on their constituents function d u ac var s d createElement 'script' s type 'text javascript' s src 'https a omappapi com app js api min js' s async true s dataset user u s dataset campaign ac d getElementsByTagName 'head' appendChild s document 'u kmqsczew vunxutxmd' The federal regime has been shutdown since Oct after Republican and Democratic lawmakers hit an impasse over healthcare spending Democrats in Congress want to extend subsidies that help residents pay for physical condition services under the Affordable Care Act to avoid huge hikes in people s monthly premiums Other residents programs are also at threat should the closure continue funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Effort SNAP or food stamps is due to run out Nov meaning more than million New Yorkers could lose the benefits that help them pay for groceries each month In a declaration Wednesday a spokesperson for the U S Department of Medical and Human Services which oversees LIHEAP through its Administration for Children and Families blamed the Democrat-led shutdown for preventing states from receiving new funds The Trump Administration is committed to reopening the governing body for the American people HHS Press Secretary Emily G Hilliard declared in an email LIHEAP provides both exigency and one-time payments toward utility bills or the cost of fuel delivery Eligibility is based on household size income a single person for example must earn below a year to qualify and other factors like if the household includes someone who is or older or younger or permanently disabled Last year it doled out million in heating assistance across the state with million of that going to households in the five boroughs The campaign s delay comes as New Yorkers vigor costs are going up and as a great number of already struggle to afford their heating bills A document last year from the surroundings initiative think tank Switchbox uncovered that one out of every four New York residents is potency burdened meaning they spend at least percent of their income on utility costs In the Bronx percent of households are capacity burdened among the highest of any New York county the overview identified Statewide more than million households are over days behind on their potential bills collectively owing nearly billion according to advocates with AARP and the Populace Utility Law Project The two groups put out a comment earlier this week imploring Gov Hochul to fund LIHEAP directly during the shutdown so it can open on time this winter saying more than New York households per day had their potency amenity disconnected just in August alone Without immediate action more than a million households could be forced to choose between heat food or medicine as temperatures start to drop the organizations announced in a message Those in need of immediate assistance should check their eligibility for other emergency funds the advocates commented like New York City s One Shot Deal or the state s Power Affordability Operation To reach the editor contact Jeanmarie citylimits org Want to republish this story Find City Limits reprint procedures here The post Scheme That Helps New Yorkers Pay Winter Heating Bills Delayed by Federal Shutdown Gov Says appeared first on City Limits