Pappas Leads Bipartisan Call to Increase Home Heating Assistance Funding

October 15, 2026 Press Release Today Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) led a bipartisan group of 73 members in calling on the House Appropriations Committee to provide an additional $3 billion in emergency supplemental appropriations for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27). In the letter, the members wrote, “As the war with Iran remains unresolved, energy prices are expected to keep rising, with heating oil up 60% since February. LIHEAP’s $4 billion in funding for the last fiscal year would fall significantly short in meeting the needs of American families this fiscal year.” “LIHEAP is a critical lifeline for low- and moderate-income individuals, but even if your household qualifies, LIHEAP does not provide guaranteed security. Five out of six families who qualify for LIHEAP receive no financial assistance due to the program’s woefully underfunded status. When adjusting for inflation, LIHEAP funding is lower now than it was in 1981 when the program was first created. If LIHEAP was funded at the same level as it was 45 years ago, the program would have received nearly $7 billion in FY27,” they continued. “Emergency LIHEAP assistance is urgently needed as winter weather approaches and colder temperatures have already begun. Families should not have to choose between staying warm and purchasing other essential items like food, medication, or rent. Congress must act and not leave families in the cold,” they concluded. LIHEAP helps low-income individuals and families pay for heating and cooling and mitigates the impacts of rising energy costs and extreme weather events. Across the nation, LIHEAP helps nearly 6 million households afford their energy bills, including nearly 30,000 households in New Hampshire , but Secretary Kennedy’s decision last year to fire all LIHEAP staff last year and President Trump’s repeated demand to cut all funding for the program has put this assistance at risk. In response, Pappas led 89 of his Congressional colleagues in calling for the protection of LIHEAP and the rehiring of all HHS staff who manage the LIHEAP program that were fired in April 2025. Pappas also led a bipartisan letter in November 2025 calling for immediate distribution of funds following delays in LIHEAP allocations to states. In April of this year, Pappas again led his colleagues in a bipartisan letter following additional LIHEAP delays from HHS. Last month Pappas led a group of 116 bipartisan members in calling on HHS to take all necessary steps to ensure that LIHEAP funds are distributed to the states as soon as possible and no later than November 1, 2026. Pappas also recently introduced the American Homes First Act which would redirect $1 billion from President Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ slush to LIHEAP. Read the full letter here.