White House Announces Billions in Aid for Low-Income Families
(UnitedVoice.com) – With winter just around the corner, Americans begin the struggle of paying high prices for energy as well as for everyday items and gasoline. The price of home heating oil, for example, sits at $4.29 per gallon as of Halloween night, meaning a 250-gallon fill-up costs well over $1,000. Still, low-income families can hope for some relief as President Joe Biden’s administration moves to open up billions in additional aid.
On November 2, The White House released a fact sheet detailing its efforts to decrease the cost of energy for struggling homes through the Inflation Reduction Act. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) will distribute $4.5 billion in funds to help lower heating costs. The funds flow directly to states, tribes, and territories which manage programs to help people pay their utility bills and upgrade their homes to reduce energy losses and increase energy efficiency, helping them reduce overall expenses. Households earning under 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines could qualify and should check with their state government.
A whopping $13.5 billion in aid will be available to help low-income families lower their winter heating bills, according to the White House. https://t.co/7S9KNQh3Ax pic.twitter.com/5ZHrfpb4q8
— Newsmax (@newsmax) November 2, 2022
The Department of Energy (DOE) will distribute an additional $9 billion to states and tribes to support assistance, tax credits, and rebates for home and apartment upgrades to reduce energy consumption through utility upgrades. The administration is focusing on high-efficiency heat pumps, targeting a half million installations through the current funding with an ultimate goal of 12 million new units by 2030. Wiring upgrades and energy-efficient doors and windows are also high on the list of priorities in the push to get more US homes up to par with the realities of hotter summers and colder winters.
The White House also emphasized supporting jobs in clean energy, catalyzing the private sector to upgrade commercial properties, and mobilizing community financing to help fund green energy projects at the local level.
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