[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2486 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2486
To amend the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 to increase
the availability of heating and cooling assistance, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 31, 2025
Ms. Ansari (for herself, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Bell, Mr. Carson, Mr. Carter
of Louisiana, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Mr.
Cleaver, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Crockett, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Ms. DeGette,
Mr. Doggett, Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania, Mr. Fields, Mr. Huffman, Mr.
Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Khanna, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mrs. McIver,
Ms. Meng, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Mullin, Ms. Norton, Ms. Ocasio-
Cortez, Ms. Omar, Ms. Pettersen, Mrs. Ramirez, Ms. Sanchez, Ms.
Schakowsky, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr. Thanedar, Mr. Thompson of
Mississippi, Ms. Titus, Ms. Tlaib, and Mrs. Watson Coleman) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Workforce,
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of
the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 to increase
the availability of heating and cooling assistance, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Heating and Cooling Relief Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that:
(1) Energy remains unaffordable for low-income households.
Nationally, low-income households spend a larger portion of
their income on home energy costs than other households. While
the average energy burden for non-low-income households is
approximately 3 percent, low-income households experience
energy burdens that are 3 times higher, with 1 in 4 low-income
households spending more than 15 percent of their income on
energy bills. The report for the Household Pulse Survey of the
Bureau of the Census, issued on October 3, 2024, noted that,
for families with incomes of less than $35,000 a year, about 54
percent said that they reduced or went without basic household
necessities, such as medicine or food, in order to pay an
energy bill, for at least one month in the last year.
(2) The Low-Income Housing Energy Assistance Program was
authorized by Congress to reduce home energy burdens with
heating and cooling assistance. In 2023, only 18 percent of
income-eligible households received a subsidy under the
program.
(3) Climate change is fueling increasingly intense winter
storms, frequent hurricanes and wildfires, and extreme
temperatures. Over the past 2 decades, the United States has
seen a 135 percent increase in billion-dollar winter disasters,
fueled by climate change, rising from 31 of those disasters
from 1985 through 2004, to 73 of those disasters from 2005
through 2024.
(4) Heat waves are increasingly common as climate change
accelerates, and now occur more often in major cities across
the United States. According to reports from the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2024 was the hottest year
on record in Earth's history. The average heat wave season
across 50 cities is approximately 46 days longer now than it
was in the 1960s, and the American Medical Association found
that heat-related deaths have increased by over 16 percent per
year since 2016. However, in fiscal year 2023, less than 3
percent of income-eligible households received cooling
assistance under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program,
with only 7 percent of funding from the Low-Income Home Energy
Assistance Program going toward cooling needs. As a result, the
Federal Government should provide further cooling assistance
for communities in need.
(5) As a result of rising home energy bills and
insufficient Federal funding for the Low-Income Home Energy
Assistance Program, residential utility arrears, or the amount
of funds owed by households to their utilities, has climbed to
an all-time high of over $21,000,000,000 as of September 2024,
with over 21,000,000 households in debt to electric utilities
and over 15,000,000 households in debt to natural gas
companies. Nearly 1 out of every 7 households is behind on
their electric or gas bill.
(6) While most States have shutoff protections that prevent
utility companies from disconnecting a customer's energy
service during the coldest winter months, 10 States have no
winter shutoff protections, and 29 States have no summer
shutoff protections. Even in certain States with winter or
summer shutoff protections, shutoffs continue to increase as
the period around the hottest and coldest months lengthens.
(7) The loss of home energy service due to high energy
burdens is one of the primary reasons for homelessness,
especially for families with children. In some housing
contexts, loss of home energy service is a grounds for
eviction.
(8) The Federal Government should expand and update the
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, as part of a robust
Federal social safety net, to--
(A) protect families against unaffordable home
energy bills and home energy shutoffs, by providing
sufficient funding and imposing regulations where
necessary;
(B) ensure all low- and moderate-income families
have access to affordable home cooling powered by
renewable energy, which will enable households to adapt
to rising temperatures due to climate change and
promote climate and energy resiliency;
(C) enhance timely and meaningful public
participation and outreach--
(i) by including nontraditional partners,
including home energy suppliers, local
educational agencies, and entities carrying out
other programs for low-income people, to assist
with signups; and
(ii) by adding stronger provisions for
presumed eligibility and waiving documentation
requirements for eligibility; and
(D) further Federal efforts to weatherize housing
for low- and moderate-income households, to help
families struggling to pay their home energy bills and
to meet national clean energy goals.
SEC. 3. FUNDING.
Section 2602 of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981
(42 U.S.C. 8621) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) by striking ``section 2607A)'' and inserting
``section 2604(e), 2605(u), 2607A, 2607B, or 2607C)'';
and
(B) by striking ``$2,000,000,000'' and all that
follows and inserting ``such sums as may be necessary,
including such sums as may be necessary to enable the
States to assist all households that meet the
eligibility requirements established under this title
and to enable States to implement home energy
affordability measures described in section
2605(b)(3).'';
(2) in subsection (e), in the first sentence--
(A) by striking ``in each fiscal year'';
(B) by striking ``$600,000,000'' and inserting
``$2,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2026, and
$2,000,000,000 plus such additional sums as may be
necessary for each fiscal year thereafter,''; and
(C) by inserting ``, or arising from a major
disaster, as defined in section 2604(e)(1)'' before the
period at the end; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(f) There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out section
2607C, including making grants under that section, $1,000,000,000 for
fiscal year 2026, and $1,000,000,000 plus such additional sums as may
be necessary for each fiscal year thereafter.''.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
Section 2603 of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981
(42 U.S.C. 8622) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through (6), (7)
through (10), and (11), as paragraphs (6) through (8), (10)
through (13), and (15), respectively;
(2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
``(4) The terms `extreme heat' and `extreme cold', used
with respect to a period, means a period in which there is an
increased risk of--
``(A) heat-related or cold-related, respectively,
illness, hospitalization, or death; or
``(B) failures or energy shutoffs of home cooling
or heating, respectively.
``(5) The term `HEAP coordinator' means an employee--
``(A) who administers a program funded under
section 2602(b); and
``(B) whose salary is paid, partly or wholly, with
funds made available under that section.'';
(3) by inserting after paragraph (8), as so redesignated,
the following:
``(9) The term `local coordinating agency' means any local
organization or local office that receives funds under section
2602(b) to perform customer intake, or approval of benefits, on
behalf of the State agency.''; and
(4) by inserting after paragraph (13), as so redesignated,
the following:
``(14) The term `State agency' means any State agency that
administers the program funded under section 2602(b).''.
SEC. 5. ASSISTANCE FOR EMERGENCIES AND MAJOR DISASTERS, INCLUDING
EXTREME HEAT AND COLD.
Section 2604 of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981
(42 U.S.C. 8623) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(1)(B), by striking ``section
2605(b)(9)(B)'' and inserting ``section 2605(b)(10)(B)''; and
(2) in subsection (e)--
(A) by striking ``(e)'' and inserting the
following:
``(e)(1) In this subsection:
``(2)'';
(B) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the
following:
``(A) The term `covered household' means an
eligible household in an area where the President, or
the Secretary, as the case may be, has declared or
determined the occurrence of a natural disaster,
emergency, or major disaster.
``(B) The term `major disaster' means--
``(i) a major disaster or emergency
declared under section 401 or 501,
respectively, of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
(42 U.S.C. 5170, 5191);
``(ii) a public health emergency determined
under section 319 of the Public Health Service
Act (42 U.S.C. 247d); or
``(iii) a period of extreme heat or extreme
cold, as determined by the Secretary.'';
(C) in paragraph (2), as so designated, by striking
``natural disaster or other emergency involved'' and
inserting ``natural disaster, emergency, or major
disaster involved''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Upon a declaration or a determination of a natural
disaster, emergency, or major disaster, for an area, the
Secretary and the Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency shall, to the extent practicable, provide
heating or cooling assistance through such an allotment to a
State for covered households in that area.
``(4) To receive assistance under this subsection, the
State that has jurisdiction over the covered households shall
provide assurances to the Secretary that the State--
``(A) will not preclude a household that receives
heating assistance or cooling assistance under this
title during a calendar year, on the basis of obtaining
that assistance, from receiving cooling assistance or
heating assistance, respectively, under this title
during that year;
``(B) will not require a household to indicate that
a household member has a medical need for assistance
under this title, to be eligible for that assistance;
and
``(C) will allow use of such assistance for
purposes for which heating or cooling assistance is
available under the program funded under section
2602(b), including for providing energy-efficient air
conditioners, and other equipment needed for home
cooling, to eligible households.''.
SEC. 6. ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS.
Section 2605 of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981
(42 U.S.C. 8624) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``paragraph
(5)'' and inserting ``paragraph (6)'';
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by inserting ``, subject to subsection
(c)(1)(A),'' after ``only'';
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking
``(B)'' and all that follows through clause
(ii) and inserting the following:
``(B) households with incomes which do not exceed
the greater of--
``(i) an amount equal to 250 percent of the
poverty level; or
``(ii) an amount equal to 80 percent of the
State median income,''; and
(iii) in the matter following subparagraph
(B)--
(I) by striking ``may give'' and
inserting ``shall give''; and
(II) by inserting before the
semicolon the following: ``, and the
State may not exclude a household from
eligibility on the basis of citizenship
of 1 or more of the household
members'';
(C) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (16) as
paragraphs (4) through (17), respectively;
(D) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
``(3) Energy burden limits.--To the extent practicable, the
Secretary shall work with States using funding under section
2602(b) (supplemented by funding available through State-level
energy programs, utility affordability initiatives, or other
mechanisms as determined by the State in consultation with the
Secretary) to implement home energy affordability measures--
``(A) to ensure that no household eligible under
paragraph (2) experiences an energy burden for which
the expenditures of the household for home energy
exceed 3 percent of household income; and
``(B) to prioritize the further reduction of energy
burdens for such eligible households with the lowest
incomes.''; and
(E) in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (10), as so
redesignated, by striking ``paragraph (16)'' and
inserting ``paragraph (17)'';
(2) in subsection (c)(1)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``assistance
to be provided under this title, including criteria''
and inserting ``assistance to be provided under this
title, including--
``(i) certifying that the State and local
coordinating agencies in the State--
``(I) shall, to the greatest extent
possible, use data sharing agreements
with Federal and State low-income
assistance programs, including the
supplemental nutrition assistance
program established under the Food and
Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et
seq.), the Medicaid program established
under title XIX of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), and the
supplemental security income program
established under title XVI of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et
seq.), to verify eligibility;
``(II) shall implement simplified
re-enrollment procedures for households
with fixed incomes or households
already determined to be eligible under
other Federal and State low-income
assistance programs, to reduce
administrative burdens on applicants
and agencies;
``(III) shall not require
applicants to submit proof of
citizenship to establish status as an
eligible household; and
``(IV) if neither the verification
process described in subclause (I) nor
the re-enrollment process described in
sub