April 25, 2022

**Further funding brings complete to highest LIHEAP funding ever obtained in a 12-month interval in NH historical past**  

**Funding comes following Shaheen and Hassan’s push to prioritize LIHEAP throughout ARP, bipartisan infrastructure & FY22 appropriations negotiations**   

(Washington, DC) – In the present day, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Representatives Annie Kuster (NH-02) and Chris Pappas (NH-01) welcomed $2,881,938 to assist Granite State households cowl the prices of residence vitality bills by the Low Revenue Dwelling Vitality Help Program (LIHEAP).  

This announcement brings the full quantity of LIHEAP funding allotted to New Hampshire over the previous 12 months to $64,347,626 – the best quantity ever – by funding from the bipartisan infrastructure package deal, the American Rescue Plan and financial 12 months (FY) 2022 appropriations funding.    

“As working households battle with surging vitality prices, I’m happy to welcome $2.8 million to the Granite State to assist households afford their vitality payments. LIHEAP is a crucial program that helps decrease heating and cooling prices so households aren’t compelled to face an inconceivable choice between paying for these bills or paying for meals or medication,” stated Senator Shaheen. “As a senior appropriator who helped write the funding invoice and led negotiations across the infrastructure regulation and the COVID reduction payments, delivering LIHEAP help to decrease vitality bills was a high precedence. I’m proud to ship historic funding round residence vitality help for the Granite State, and I’m glad to see these funds out the door.” 

“As Granite Staters proceed to face excessive vitality costs, we should maintain working to decrease prices in any method that we will,” Senator Hassan stated. “This federal funding will assist Granite Staters scale back their residence vitality bills, together with by serving to households put money into renewable vitality. This funding builds on my bipartisan work to assist householders decrease their month-to-month vitality invoice by making vitality environment friendly upgrades, and I’ll maintain working throughout the aisle on commonsense options to deliver down vitality prices.”

“This extra Low Revenue Dwelling Vitality Help Program (LIHEAP) funding will go a great distance to make sure Granite State households can afford their vitality prices with out having to sacrifice different necessities,” stated Consultant Kuster. “I used to be proud to assist broaden LIHEAP sources in Congress and I’ll proceed working to assist these most in want throughout New Hampshire.”

“Nobody ought to have to decide on between paying their heating and cooling payments or placing meals on the desk,” stated Consultant Chris Pappas. “I fought laborious to move the bipartisan infrastructure regulation to ship sources like this and am happy to see further funding being delivered to New Hampshire. I stay dedicated to do all that we will to decrease vitality prices for households.”  

As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Shaheen has prioritized making certain Granite State households and seniors have entry to heating and vitality help. Senator Shaheen labored to safe over $3.2 billion for the Workplace of Vitality Effectivity and Renewable Vitality (EERE) within the FY22 authorities funding laws that was signed into regulation in March. New Hampshire has already obtained report LIHEAP funding this winter to help Granite State households with residence heating payments, effectivity upgrades and emergency conditions. Along with the $900 million in LIHEAP funds allotted by the CARES Act in 2020, Shaheen and Hassan labored to safe $4.5 billion for LIHEAP within the American Rescue Plan that was signed into regulation in March 2021 and offered $35,498,757 to New Hampshire. In October, Shaheen and Hassan despatched a bipartisan letter that efficiently pushed the Biden administration to swiftly launch LIHEAP funding, together with $25,192,436 for New Hampshire, below the momentary authorities funding measure forward of the winter season.   

Senator Hassan is working to decrease vitality prices for Granite Staters, together with by pushing for a suspension of the federal fuel tax for the remainder of the 12 months and efficiently calling on the Biden administration to launch extra barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Senator Hassan additionally efficiently labored to strengthen vitality effectivity applications within the bipartisan infrastructure regulation. The bipartisan package deal helps home battery vitality storage improvement and deployment, expertise wanted to extend using renewable vitality sources and get rid of reliability gaps all through the day. These provisions construct on Senator Hassan’s bipartisan Battery Storage Innovation Act – which was signed into regulation as a part of the December authorities funding package deal. Senator Hassan additionally launched bipartisan laws to decrease vitality prices for households by increasing and lengthening tax credit for vitality environment friendly residence upgrades. Senator Hassan has additionally continued to advocate for robust weatherization program funding for New Hampshire.