Washington, DC — Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today welcomes $93 million dollars from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that were released for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

“I am pleased that additional funds were made available for New Yorkers who are struggling to heat their homes during the final months of winter,” Senator Clinton said. “As the price of oil remains on the rise, this assistance will be a great relief for New Yorker’s who cannot afford to keep their families warm this winter.”

LIHEAP, which offers federal funds to help low income households meet their home heating needs, is critical to thousands of low income New Yorkers who struggle to cope with the soaring cost and diminishing availability of home heating fuel. Senator Clinton has worked tirelessly to increase LIHEAP funding to make sure low income New Yorkers are able to heat their homes in the midst of record energy costs.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Energy projected that heating costs would be 27 percent higher this year for New York households that use natural gas and 25 percent for those that use home heating oil over last winter’s costs. For the 52% of New York households that use natural gas to heat their homes, the Department of Energy projects that heating costs will rise from $1,029 last winter to $1,305 this winter. For the 33% of New York households that use home heating oil, DOE projects that heating costs will rise from $1,237 last winter to $1,551 this winter. Statewide, this would mean additional heating costs of $1.7 billion this winter over last year in New York alone.

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