{"id":96234,"date":"2023-02-11T16:31:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-11T21:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/framinghamsource.com\/?p=96234"},"modified":"2023-02-12T08:48:21","modified_gmt":"2023-02-12T13:48:21","slug":"senator-markey-re-introduces-legislation-to-transform-liheap-help-provide-energy-assistance-to-those-in-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/framinghamsource.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/11\/senator-markey-re-introduces-legislation-to-transform-liheap-help-provide-energy-assistance-to-those-in-need\/","title":{"rendered":"Senator Markey Re-Introduces Legislation To Transform LIHEAP & Help Provide Energy Assistance To Those In Need"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In\u00a0full transparency, the following is a media release from Sen. Ed Markey, who was elected by voters in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to serve the state in Washington DC in the US Senate. He is a Democrat.<\/em>\u00a0(file photo)\u00a0SOURCE publishes press release from elected leaders as a community service.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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WASHINGTON DC – As American households struggle to afford high home heating costs this winter, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Congressman Jamaal Bowman (NY-16) this week reintroduced the\u00a0Heating and Cooling Relief Act<\/em>\u00a0to invest in and expand the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to ensure people, especially underserved families and individuals, receive the financial assistance they need to stay warm throughout the winter and cool throughout the summer. The legislation also ensures that states can leverage LIHEAP funding to invest in climate adaptation, including a transition away from fossil fuels to clean energy sources, a vital step for lowering energy costs for the long term and combatting the extreme weather that results from climate change.\u00a0

\u201cAmerican families have been struggling to pay for their energy bills as a result of the continued impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and rising fossil fuel prices brought on by Putin\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. Unfortunately, these circumstances have made it even harder for Massachusetts families to afford to heat their homes this winter,\u201d\u00a0said Senator Markey.\u00a0\u201cAs Congressman Bowman and I reintroduce our\u00a0Heating and Cooling Relief Act<\/em>, the need to bolster LIHEAP and ensure that home energy funding will be available to all of those who need it could not be clearer. This important legislation would provide LIHEAP funding to millions more Americans and help the program improve its outreach efforts and serve all eligible households. It also takes steps to reduce the energy burdens of LIHEAP recipients and cut down our fossil fuel use by increasing investments in weatherization. The\u00a0Heating and Cooling Relief Act<\/em>\u00a0is the ambitious and comprehensive legislation we need to help ensure the health and safety of American families, and support a just transition away from fossil fuel consumption.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cUtilities are a fundamental human right, and no one should be living in energy poverty,\u201d\u00a0said Congressman Bowman.\u00a0\u201cSenator Markey and I are working toward an America that respects our collective humanity and our\u00a0Heating and Cooling Relief Act<\/em>\u00a0makes it so that every family can afford their energy bills. This is a racial and economic justice issue, with Black, Latino and Indigenous households all experiencing disproportionately high energy burdens. The lack of energy assistance is also a public health crisis, with high energy burdens associated with a greater risk for respiratory diseases and heat strokes. In my district, constituents call us daily asking for help with their heating bills\u00a0 and it is clear that federal action is needed. I am proud to have a partner in Senator Markey as we take on this fight.\u201d

Cosponsors of this legislation in the\u00a0Senate include Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.),\u00a0Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.),\u00a0and\u00a0Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Specifically, the\u00a0Heating and Cooling Relief Act\u00a0<\/em>would:<\/p>\n\n\n\n