Senators move to fund low-income HVAC program that Trump admin wants to slash

Some U.S. senators are defying the White House’s plans to eliminate a low-income, HVAC-focused program, moving to save the initiative. 

Catch up quick: The ‘Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program’ (LIHEAP) is a federal program that helps low-income families pay their heating and cooling bills, weatherize their homes, and repair or replace their HVAC equipment.

• It was established in 1981 and over the past decade has received about $4 billion in federal funds annually, which are distributed through states to help about six million households.
• This spring, the Trump administration slashed the program’s staff and proposed defunding it entirely. 

What’s happening: A Senate committee in late July OK’d a 2026 budget of nearly $4.05 billion for LIHEAP — a $20 million increase over its current funding level. 

Why it matters: It’s a sign that Congress wants to protect the program.

• However, it’s short of $7 billion, which the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), a group that represents state governments to secure LIHEAP funding, argues is needed. 

The other side: The Trump administration’s proposed budget says LIHEAP is “unnecessary because states have policies preventing utility disconnection for low-income households, effectively making LIHEAP a pass-through benefitting utilities in the Northeast.”

• “Further, LIHEAP rewards states like New York and California, two of the top recipients for LIHEAP funding, which have implemented anti-consumer policies that drive up home energy prices.” 
• It also cited fraud and abuse and said low-income individuals would be helped “through energy dominance, lower prices, and an America First economic platform.” 

Yes, but: Mark Wolfe, NEADA’s executive director, has blasted the administration’s stance as “full of inaccuracies that suggest a complete lack of understanding about the purpose of LIHEAP.”

• “LIHEAP is no more a ‘pass-through benefiting utilities’ than food assistance is a pass-through for grocery stores, or the mortgage interest deduction is a pass-through for housing lenders,” he added.  
• He has also cited a census survey which found that 23.4 percent of U.S. households could not pay their energy bill for at least one month in the last year. 

What we’re watching: It will take weeks, possibly months, to determine whether and at what level LIHEAP will ultimately be funded. 

• The full Senate still has to vote on the budget, and the House is set to advance its version in September.
• The federal government’s fiscal 2026 begins on October 1, and if the budget isn’t finalized by then, the government will likely enact a continuing resolution — a temporary funding measure — until the budget is passed.