Trahan, Warren, Lynch, Lead Demands to Trump Administration to Provide Relief for Skyrocketing Winter Heating Bills Amid Iran War

LOWELL, MA – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) , Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Congressman Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08) led 24 of their colleagues from Northeastern states in pressing the Department of Energy (DOE) to take immediate action to address the rapidly rising cost of heating oil, which has surged around 60 percent since the start of President Trump’s war in Iran. In their letter, the lawmakers urged the DOE to support an immediate end to the war and prioritize lowering energy costs for the winter, warning that rising prices will force families to choose between heating their homes and paying for basic necessities. “Heating oil costs for the upcoming winter are projected to reach record levels, and families throughout the northeastern United States will likely bear the brunt of these costs,” wrote the lawmakers . The President’s war in Iran has played a large part in driving up the price of heating oil. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has pushed crude oil from $72 to over $100 a barrel, causing a massive increase in heating oil costs in the United States. American families that rely on heating oil are projected to pay about $600 more to keep their homes warm this winter than last year. In addition to increasing the cost of heating oil, the Trump administration has made or attempted to make heating costs for the upcoming winter even higher by: Attempting to eliminate the $4 billion Low-Income Heating Assistance Program (LIHEAP) that supports families with high energy bills. Effectively increasing taxes on solutions to the heating cost crisis by eliminating four tax credits and deductions that supported residential and commercial building energy efficiency upgrades. Cutting more than $20 billion in clean energy and grid modernization funding for hundreds of energy projects across the country that would have decreased costs for families. “As Americans face immense difficulty with keeping the heat on, the administration appears to be cutting off all avenues for meaningful relief, handing out tax cuts to billionaires, spending tens of billions of dollars on an unnecessary foreign war, and jacking up costs for struggling families,” the lawmakers continued . “To address these costs for American families, we urge you to reverse course on the senseless war in Iran, undo the administration’s cuts to clean energy and grid modernization programs, work with Congress to repeal the tax increases imposed on energy efficiency upgrades and other ways to lower heating costs, and end the administration’s attacks on LIHEAP,” the lawmakers concluded . The lawmakers were joined by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.); and Representatives Gabe Amo (D-R.I.), Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), Bill Keating (D-Mass.), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), John Mannion (D-N.Y.), Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Richard Neal (D-Mass.), Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), and Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.). A copy of the letter sent today can be accessed HERE . ###