Leahy, Sanders, Welch: Vermont Receives $16.6 Million In Home Heating Assistance

MONDAY, – November 5, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who have pressed for the release of federal home heating aid funds as winter weather has descended on Vermont, welcomed the federal release Monday of $16.6 million in heating assistance to the state.

Leahy, Sanders and Welch have long championed the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).  The new funding, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is part of  a nationwide release of $2.9 billion in LIHEAP funds to help struggling families heat their homes and represents 90 percent of the block grant funding approved for LIHEAP under the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2014.

In a joint statement, Leahy, Sanders and Welch said:  “With temperatures already dropping well below freezing, many Vermonters are struggling to heat their homes, and this is a timely infusion for this vital lifeline.  But more is needed, much more must be done, and we will continue to press for additional support for LIHEAP to ensure that struggling Vermonters are able to heat their homes this winter.”

Vermonters seeking home heating assistance may visit the website of the Department of Children and Families at http://dcf.vermont.gov/esd/fuel_assistance.

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