(Credit for Photo: (Courtesy of Adobe Stock) Source for Photo: -Danielle Smith, Keystone News Service)

(Reported by Danielle Smith of Keystone News Service)

(Harrisburg, PA) As Congress considers defunding the Low-Income-Home Energy Assistance Program known as LIHEAP in the reconciliation bill, Pennsylvania advocates warn the cuts would hit families and seniors hardest. LIHEAP provides up to a thousand-dollar cash grant and crisis assistance to help Pennsylvanians pay their heating bills. Bill Johnston-Walsh with AARP Pennsylvania says LIHEAP also helps families with emergency furnace repairs and replacements. Without it, many could be stuck in freezing temperatures with no way to fix a broken heating system. Johnson-Walsh says the reconciliation bill would completely eliminate funding for LIHEAP. He notes the program helped six point two million low-income households nationwide in 2024 at a cost of about four billion dollars.