Gov. Kathy Hochul urged President Trump’s administration on Monday to release $400 million in federal funds that the state can use to help 1.5 million New Yorkers heat their homes through the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP).
Hochul and upstate Rep. Paul Tonko are making the demand after the federal government reopened last week following a 43-day shutdown, the longest in U.S. history. The state had not been able to start the program due to the shutdown, according to Hochul’s office.
HEAP provides eligible New Yorkers with a one-time payment toward their utility bills, such as electric and natural gas. Eligibility for the program is based on multiple factors, including income, household size, the primary heating source, and whether some household members are young children, seniors, or disabled. Payments can range as much as $900 per household.
“It’s shameful that the Trump Administration is threatening to make New Yorkers pay more for their heating bills this winter — and I’m demanding the immediate release of federal funds to help 1.5 million New Yorkers heat their homes,” Hochul said in a statement. “I’ll never stop fighting for affordability, and that’s why my team is also helping millions more New Yorkers enroll in our state program to get monthly energy discounts.”
The governor is highlighting HEAP’s delay as an affordability issue as she approaches a reelection year, in which mounting costs are likely to remain top of mind for New York voters throughout the campaign.
The shutdown resulted from Senate Democrats refusing to sign off on a Republican spending plan, citing the plan’s exclusion of continued subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. A group of eight moderate Senate Democrats then crossed party lines to vote with Republicans to reopen the government last week, arguing the party would not accomplish its goal of extending the subsidies and that the shutdown was causing too much damage.
Hochul’s office said it is prepared to reopen the program, accepting new applications, within 48 hours of receiving the federal funds currently being held up.
The governor’s team also said the earliest the program could start given the delays brought on by the shutdown is next Monday, Nov. 24. While the program is funded at the same level in the continuing resolution passed by Congress as last year, the state has yet to recieve the funds.
As the state awaits a cash infusion from the federal government for HEAP, Hochul encouraged New Yorkers to enroll in the state’s Energy Affordability Program (EAP), which is separate from the federal assistance program.
The EAP provides annual savings on energy bills up to $500, according to Hochul’s office. The program already serves roughly one million households, but about another 1.5 million are eligible, state officials estimate.
