Caleb Heeringa, Senior Press Secretary, caleb.heeringa@sierraclub.org
Today Representative Jamaal Bowman and Senator Ed Markey introduced the Heating and Cooling Relief Act of 2022, which would greatly expand a key utility bill assistance program and protect low-income households from losing access to electricity and other essential utilities.
The bill would more than quadruple funding for the Low Income Housing Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps American families who pay a high percentage of their income on energy and are behind on utility bills. The underfunded program currently only reaches 16 percent of eligible households, leaving millions of Americans at risk of utility debt - a common cause of eviction.
The Heating and Cooling Relief Act of 2022 would help people access the program, ensure that no eligible household has their utilities shut off or pay late fees, clear past utility debt, and set up discounted payment plans to support low-income consumers.
The bill would also make vital changes to LIHEAP to address the growing impacts of the climate crisis, including increased funding for cooling assistance that can save lives during heatwaves and easier access for households impacted by extreme weather disasters like flooding and hurricanes.
Sharonda Williams-Tack, Associate Director of the Sierra Club’s Energy Justice Campaign, Healthy Communities, issued the following statement:
“In one of the wealthiest countries on the planet, no one should have to choose between paying an energy bill and feeding their family. But that’s the reality for millions of Americans - Black, Indigenous and Latinx Americans in particular. This bill would be an historic investment in ensuring that everyone has access to essential services like electricity while protecting millions of Americans from the impacts of extreme weather and the climate crisis.”
Background:
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, 1 in 5 US households - including a disproportionate number of Black, Latinx and Indigenous households - reported reducing or forgoing necessities such as food and medicine to pay an energy bill. Nationwide, utility bills are one of the top reasons that people take out predatory payday loans, contributing to a cycle of poverty and increased chances of experiencing homelessness.
At the beginning of the pandemic, many states instituted moratoriums preventing utilities from shutting off access to power for non-payment. Studies have shown that moratoriums allowed more people to stay in their homes and avoided deaths from COVID-19. But most of those moratoriums have lapsed and shutoffs have restarted, all while investor-owned utilities took home billions of dollars in federal aid and paid billions to executives and shareholders.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.