Press Release: 11/20/2025
Governor Healey Calls on President Trump to Immediately Release Heating Assistance Funding
Despite federal government reopening, Trump Administration says it’ll take until end of the month for LIHEAP funds to be available for families, seniors and people with disabilities
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
11/20/2025
MEDIA CONTACT
Karissa Hand, Press Secretary
Phone
Call Karissa Hand, Press Secretary at 617-725-4025
BOSTON — Governor Maura Healey is today demanding that the Trump Administration immediately release funding for the for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). This is a federal program, referred to as the Massachusetts Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) in Massachusetts, that typically helps more than 150,000 Massachusetts households, representing over 300,000 people, afford to heat their homes during the winter each year. This federal funding usually becomes available in early November, but it was delayed due to the federal government shutdown. Despite the government reopening, the Trump Administration has informed states that LIHEAP funding will not be restored until the end of the month.
“Every year, thousands of low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities struggle to afford to heat their homes during New England’s bitter cold winters,” said Governor Healey. “LIHEAP serves as a crucial lifeline for Massachusetts families and people across the country. It's bad enough that the Trump Administration shut off funding for heating assistance, SNAP, Head Start and other essential safety net programs that people rely on during the shutdown. But now, with the government reopened, they are telling us that it’ll more time to get LIHEAP funding flowing again. This is unacceptable, especially as the holidays approach and temperatures continue to plummet. President Trump needs to immediately release LIHEAP funding and not leave our families out in the cold.”
“As temperatures continue to drop and the cost of utilities continue to rise, our low-income residents – including seniors and working parents – should not be left in the cold due to the Trump Administration’s political games,” said Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell. “I am grateful to Governor Healey for standing up for Massachusetts residents and demanding that the federal government take immediate action to ensure every household can stay warm and safe.”
"It is simply unacceptable for the Trump Administration to delay LIHEAP funding, as many Massachusetts residents, and residents across New England, cannot afford to heat their homes without this vital support. If the Trump Administration cares at all about vulnerable residents who are facing freezing temperatures over the next several months, they will ensure that LIHEAP funding is available as soon as possible," said House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano (D-Quincy). "While President Trump continues to play games with the most basic government support systems, the House will remain focused on how we can better serve our residents here in Massachusetts despite a hostile federal government."
"Withholding funds for LIHEAP will needlessly force people to choose between staying warm and paying for food and other living costs that are already rising because of Trump's policies," said Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland). "Just as we’ve seen with SNAP, the point is cruelty — punishing people, including many who voted for Donald Trump, by threatening to make them endure the cold. I emphatically join Governor Healey in calling on the Trump Administration to release these funds immediately. Stop inflicting harm on our people."
In her letter to Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought, Governor Healey urged the Trump Administration to promptly release the highest allowable amount of LIHEAP funding authorized under the Continuing Resolution, ensure that the program is fully staffed and operational so that states and community partners can implement their assistance plans without delay, and provide clear guidance and coordination to the states regarding timelines, eligibility, and disbursement mechanisms.
Until federal funds are restored for LIHEAP, the Healey-Driscoll Administration has been using leftover federal funding from last year to support households with a heating emergency. Heating emergencies include not having any heat, receiving a termination notice from a utility, having less than 1/8 of a tank of oil, or having less than three days’ supply of other deliverable fuels. Any family experiencing a heating emergency should immediately contact their Local Administering Agency to apply for heating assistance.
During the 2024-2025 heating season, the Massachusetts Home Energy Assistance Program provided over 159,000 Massachusetts households with financial assistance to heat their homes through the winter. The majority of those households, 54 percent, were seniors on a fixed income and approximately 11 percent of the households assisted have children under the age of 6.
In response to the prolonged government shutdown this year, the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) expanded the shut-off moratorium for this winter. This year, shut-off moratorium began on October 27, 2025, and will end on April 1, 2026, as opposed to the typical mid-November to mid-March timeframe. The shut-off moratorium applies to residential customers of the major gas and electric utilities. This year, the DPU applied this extension to Municipal Light Plant customers, one of the only times the DPU has exercised this authority. These utility companies cannot shut off heating service to residents who demonstrate they are experiencing financial hardship. Any customer experiencing financial hardship should contact their utility to learn about the additional assistance programs offered like budget billing and extended payment plans to make your utility bills more manageable.