April 03, 2025

Wyden Co-Sponsors Legislation to Help Families Pay their Heating and Cooling Bills

Legislation would provide urgent relief for families in Oregon and nationwide as energy prices rise

Washington D.C. —U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today announced he is co-sponsoring a bill to expand and modernize the severely underfunded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), bringing much-needed relief for Americans struggling to pay their utility bills in Oregon and nationwide. This legislation comes on the heels of reports that RFK Jr. has terminated the entire LIHEAP staff, making this bill all the more crucial.

“No Oregonian should have to choose between putting food on their table or paying their utility bills,” Wyden said. “Unfortunately, as the climate crisis continues to wreak havoc, more and more Americans face extreme temperature shifts and rising energy costs. This bill would help provide energy assistance to everybody facing the impossible choice between food or utilities and could mean the difference between life and death for many vulnerable Oregonians.”  

Specifically, the Heating and Cooling Relief Act would:

  • Substantially increase Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funding to ensure year-round assistance, including an additional $2 billion for emergency energy assistance and $1 billion in Just Transition grants to help vulnerable households adapt to a changing climate;

  • Broaden eligibility so that households earning up to 250 percent of the federal poverty line or 80 percent of state median income can qualify, while ensuring lower energy burdens for lower-income households and capping household energy burdens at 3 percent of monthly income;

  • Protect consumers from utility shutoffs, excessive late fees, and predatory energy practices that disproportionately hurt vulnerable communities;

  • Expand emergency assistance, ensuring extreme heat and cold are recognized as qualifying emergencies and that states can provide vital cooling relief;

  • Increase funding for weatherization and home electrification, to help low-income households reduce energy costs, improve health and safety, and transition to clean, resilient energy systems;

  • Streamline enrollment and outreach, improving coordination with other federal programs and increasing access through automatic enrollment and simplified verification; and

  • Strengthen reporting requirements to better track affordability, equity, and climate resilience outcomes.

In addition to Wyden, the Heating and Cooling Relief Act, led by Senator Edward J Markey  (D- Mass.) and Representative Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), was co-sponsored by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I); as well as Representatives Nannette Barragán (CA-44), Wesley Bell (MO-01), Andre Carson (IN-07), Troy Carter (LA-02), Kathy Castor (FL-14), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), Steve Cohen (TN-09), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Diana DeGette (CO-01), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Cleo Fields (LA-06), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Hank Johnson (GA-04), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Summer Lee (PA-12), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Grace Meng (NY-06), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Brittany Pettersen (CO-07), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Linda Sánchez (CA-38), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Adam Smith (WA-09), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Bennie Thompson (MS-02), Dina Titus (NV-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12).

The full bill is here. A section by section breakdown of the bill is here.