Concord, N.H. – Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander is co-sponsoring the LIHEAP Staffing Support Act, bipartisan legislation to protect the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps millions of families across the country afford their energy bills and stay safe during extreme weather. 

The bipartisan legislation would establish a minimum staffing threshold to administer the program, following the Trump Administration’s moves to lay off the entire federal LIHEAP staff earlier this year. This decision, in addition to the Administration eliminating the program entirely in the President’s FY2026 budget request, has put the program’s future in jeopardy, threatening heating and cooling assistance for millions of families, just as summer begins.

“It’s been hotter than hell many a day this summer, and energy costs are sky-high. Tens of thousands of families across New Hampshire are relying on a critical program called LIHEAP to keep their homes cool,” said Congresswoman Goodlander. “The Trump Administration’s effort to gut this program is downright dangerous, and that’s why I’m helping lead this bipartisan legislation in Congress to prevent these senseless cuts.”

LIHEAP, established in 1981 with bipartisan support, is a federally funded program that helps low-income households cover heating and cooling costs.

The text of the legislation can be found here.

Congresswoman Goodlander is a fierce defender of the programs that Granite Staters rely on, including LIHEAP. Earlier this year, she sent a letter to the Trump Administration calling for the protection of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the rehiring of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) staff who manage the LIHEAP program that were fired this week.

###