The Trump administration is trying to eliminate a heating assistance program that helps the poor stay warm during the winter months, according to the Associated Press. Their second attempt.
The administration is using the same arguments from a year ago when it tried to abolish the program, saying it’s rife with fraud and that no one would be left freezing if the program goes away.
“These arguments are very misleading and wrong,” said Mark Wolfe, director of the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association in Washington, D.C.
The program, known as LIHEAP — Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program — helps families pay their heating bills primarily in the form of a grant that’s sent directly to utility companies or heating fuel vendors.
Last time Trump tried to get rid of LIHEAP, Congress wasn’t having it. Forty-five senators appealed to the president and asked to keep funding for the program. He originally wanted to eliminate 90 percent of its funding. The program helps 6 million households across the country.
This move is particularly cruel considering how climate change is creating more extreme temperatures in the United States, which can mean longer, colder winters and longer, hotter summers. It’s not an exaggeration to say that this is a lifesaving program.
It’s just another battle in the GOP war against the poor.