{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.manchin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/manchin-calls-on-administration-to-release-funds-to-heat-west-virginia-homes", "Manchin Calls On Administration To Release Funds To Heat West Virginia Homes", "2020-10-19", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "House", "WV", "Joe Manchin", "M001183", "www.manchin.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "October 19, 2020\n\t\t\t Manchin Calls On Administration To Release Funds To Heat West Virginia Homes \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tCharleston,\r\nWV  U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) led 40 bipartisan Senators in calling on\r\nthe U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to release funds for the\r\nLow-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) as swiftly and at the\r\nhighest level possible under the current continuing resolution. The Senators\r\nsaid the federal LIHEAP funding is a crucial lifeline that assists low-income\r\nhouseholds and seniors on fixed incomes pay their energy bills and stay safe\r\nduring the winter. HHS typically releases 90 percent of funds when a continuing\r\nresolution is enacted. The\r\nSenators said in part, As the main federal program that helps low-income\r\nhouseholds and seniors with their energy bills, LIHEAP provides critical\r\nassistance during the cold winter and hot summer months. October marks\r\nthe start of the heating season for many states and low-income families and\r\nseniors will be facing additional strains on their household budgets. In\r\naddition, millions of low-income families, including seniors, are facing new\r\nand severe financial hardship due to the coronavirus, making the assistance\r\nprovided through LIHEAP more important than ever. The average cost of home heating is unaffordable\r\nfor millions of low-income households, costing an average of $911 per year\r\nnationally.The timely release of these funds will provide critical\r\nassistance to families unemployed as a result of the pandemic pay their energy\r\nbills.According to the National Energy Assistance Directors'\r\nAssociation, 15 to 20 percent of residential customers are\r\nat least 60 days behind on their electric and natural gas bills.As of July\r\n31, 2020, the estimated resulting electric arrearages are between $8 billion\r\nand $9.9 billion and natural gas arrearages are between $975 million and $1.3\r\nbillion. Read\r\nthe full letter below or click\r\nhere.  Dear\r\nSecretary Azar: With\r\npassage of the continuing resolution, we write to urge the Department of Health\r\nand Human Services to release Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program\r\n(LIHEAP) funds as quickly and at the highest level possible. As\r\nthe main federal program that helps low-income households and seniors with\r\ntheir energy bills, LIHEAP provides critical assistance during the cold winter\r\nand hot summer months. October marks the start of the heating season for\r\nmany states and low-income families and seniors will be facing additional\r\nstrains on their household budgets. In addition, millions of low-income\r\nfamilies, including seniors, are facing new and severe financial hardship due\r\nto the coronavirus, making the assistance provided through LIHEAP more\r\nimportant than ever. As\r\nstate agencies work to prepare their LIHEAP programs for the coming winter, it\r\nis crucial that they have the resources they need to assist low-income\r\nhouseholds and seniors as soon as possible, especially in light of the current\r\nhealth crisis. As such, we request that you quickly release LIHEAP funds\r\nat the highest level possible to allow states to prepare for the upcoming\r\nseason, so that low-income households do not have to choose between paying for\r\nheat and affording other necessities like food or medicine. We\r\nlook forward to continuing to work with you on this critical program, and thank\r\nyou for your attention to our concerns and those of our constituents.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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.manchin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/manchin-calls-on-administration-to-release-funds-to-heat-west-virginia-homes"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5019839629530907, "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"}