A bipartisan set of lawmakers is introducing a bill that seeks to reverse the Trump administration’s staffing cuts at a program that helps Americans afford heat and air conditioning.
Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) are introducing legislation aimed at undoing staff cuts at the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
The Trump administration fired every staffer who works on the program as part of larger staff cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and has proposed zeroing out LIHEAP’s budget.
The Lawler-Gottheimer bill, which was first shared with The Hill, requires HHS to have at least 20 people working on the program, 60 percent of whom cannot be contractors.
In an emergency, 30 people would have to be employed as part of the program.
It’s not entirely clear whether the legislation could actually pass or whether it might be attached to any larger bills. However, it represents a signal that the Trump administration’s move to fire the LIHEAP staffers is generating at least some Republican pushback.
“Nearly 6 million families nationwide — and 240,000 in Jersey — rely on LIHEAP to keep the heat on in the winter and the AC running in the summer,” Gottheimer said in a written statement. “President Trump is hell-bent on dismantling this critical program, firing its entire staff back in April and proposing to eliminate LIHEAP completely in his budget to Congress. My new bipartisan bill will stop these reckless cuts and ensure that no family is left in the cold or heat without help.”
“I’m proud to co-lead this bipartisan bill to fix LIHEAP’s staffing crisis, ensuring Hudson Valley families get the energy assistance they need to stay warm this winter,” Lawler said in a written statement. “With minimum staffing requirements and smart use of contractors, we’re tackling inefficiency and protecting our most vulnerable who depend on it.”
Asked about the cuts of the program during a recent congressional hearing, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. argued that cost savings from President Trump’s energy policies would make it redundant.
“President Trump’s rationale and OMB’s rationale is that President Trump’s energy policies are going to lower the cost of energy so that everybody will get lower costs…and in that case this program would simply be another subsidy to the fossil fuel industry,” he said, referring to the Office of Management and Budget.
“If that doesn’t happen and Congress chooses to appropriate the money, I, of course, will spend it,” he added.
The introduction of the legislation also comes as Gottheimer is running for governor of New Jersey in a crowded Democratic field.
Both lawmakers currently represent swing districts.
