WASHINGTON – Rhode Island will see a 90-percent increase this year in federal funding for its Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), according to U.S. Sen. Jack Reed.
In fiscal 2009, the state will receive $38.8 million in LIHEAP aid, including $8.4 million in contingency funds, he said. The state received more than $20 million in regular and emergency LIHEAP aid in FY 2008.
“I am pleased that we were able to secure this increase for LIHEAP in this spending package,” said Reed, who has led a bipartisan effort to increase federal heating aid. “This great news for Rhode Island. It will help thousands of hard working families and seniors who are reeling from high energy prices.”
The federal block-grant program allocates money to the states each year to energy-assistance efforts targeting low-income households. Last year, LIHEAP helped nearly 30,000 lower-income families in Rhode Island – and 5.8 million households nationwide – to heat their homes or restore cut-off utility service.
Nationwide, Congress has allocated a record $5.1 billion to LIHEAP for FY 2009, an increase of more than $2.5 billion from the year before. “The funding will be distributed under the terms of the Continuing Resolution (CR), which keeps the federal government funded when annual spending bills are not passed,” Reed’s office said.
Additional information about the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in Rhode Island– and other energy-efficiency and assistance programs for low-income state residents – is available from the R.I. Office of Energy Resources at www.energy.ri.gov.
Rhode Island's Market Has Changed. Developers, Builders, Investors and Sellers Must Change With It.
By Emilio DiSpirito IV License Partner | Engel & Völkers Oceanside Leader | The DiSpirito…
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