{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/news/press/release/amid-skyrocketing-fuel-prices-and-dropping-temperatures-gillibrand-holds-press-conference-demanding-release-of-heating-assistance-funding/", "Amid Skyrocketing Fuel Prices And Dropping Temperatures, Gillibrand Holds Press Conference Demanding Release Of Heating Assistance Funding", "2026-09-17", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "NY", "Kirsten E. Gillibrand", "G000555", "www.gillibrand.senate.gov", "gillibrand", "https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) held a virtual press conference to demand that the Trump administration release funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) ahead of the cold winter months.\n\n\u201cNew Yorkers are already feeling the pain of President Trump\u2019s economy at the grocery store, the gas pump, and the pharmacy. Now, as temperatures begin to drop, they\u2019re getting hit again: this time at the thermostat,\u201d said Senator Gillibrand. \u201cFuel prices are soaring because of President Trump\u2019s war with Iran, and New Yorkers need help heating their homes as temperatures drop. I\u2019m calling on the Trump administration to immediately release LIHEAP funding to help low-income New Yorkers afford their energy bills.\u201d\n\nLast week, the price of crude oil rose to $100 per barrel for the first time since July\u2014a direct result of President Trump\u2019s war with Iran. That has driven up the average cost of heating oil in New York up to $6.14 per gallon, which is a 66% increase from this time last year.\n\nAt the same time, President Trump\u2019s administration has yet to release the LIHEAP funding that helps New Yorkers heat their homes in the fall and winter, which was appropriated by Congress in the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 earlier this month. Under this bill, New York is slated to receive an estimated $360 million in LIHEAP funds.\n\nWith temperatures beginning to drop and fuel prices continuing to rise, Senator Gillibrand sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. demanding that the administration immediately release this funding.\n\nThe full text of the letter can be found here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-18T09:27:43Z", "2026-09-18T09:29:09Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/news/press/release/amid-skyrocketing-fuel-prices-and-dropping-temperatures-gillibrand-holds-press-conference-demanding-release-of-heating-assistance-funding/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.333478070795536, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}