U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker (both D-N.J.) today announced $153.3 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to help residents across the state pay for home energy costs this winter. Funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which is provided by the federal government and administered by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), will help low-income individuals and families pay for home heating costs and cover unpaid utility bills. 219,755 households across New Jersey benefited from LIHEAP in 2020.
“No family should have to choose between heating their home, putting food on the table, and buying medicine,” said Sen. Menendez. “As winter nears, it’s critical that low-income families and seniors across the state have the resources to pay their bills and heat their homes. The additional funding Senator Booker and I helped secure will help even more New Jersey families who are struggling to make ends meet.”
“Funding LIHEAP is critical to making home energy affordable for low-income families and seniors,” said Sen. Booker. “This federal funding will provide much-needed relief to New Jersey families so they remain healthy and warm this winter. I am happy to see this funding awarded to our state when it is needed the most.”
In total, the Biden Administration announced $4.5 billion in LIHEAP funding nationwide. The funding includes an additional $1 billion for LIHEAP that Congress appropriated in the most recent budget extension, as well as an additional $100 million Sens. Menendez and Booker secured in the bipartisan infrastructure bill that was signed into law last year.