Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP): Estimated Allocations

Low Income Home Energy
Assistance Program (LIHEAP):
Estimated Allocations
Libby Perl
Analyst in Housing
Domestic Social Policy Division
Summary
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is a block grant
program under which the federal government gives annual grants to states, the District
of Columbia, U.S. territories and commonwealths, and Indian tribal organizations to
operate multi-component home energy assistance programs for needy households. This
report contains two tables that show estimated LIHEAP allocations to the states. Table

1 shows state allocations at various levels: (1) the amount appropriated for FY2006, (2)


the amount appropriated for FY2007, (3) the amount appropriated in FY2008, and (4)
estimated state allocations based on the amount requested by the President for FY2009.
Table 2 shows estimated state allocations at other hypothetical appropriations
increments. For detailed information on how the LIHEAP formula allocates funds to
the states, see CRS Report RL33275, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Allocation
Rates: Legislative History and Current Law, by Libby Perl. This report will be updated
when proposed funding levels change.
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is a block grant
program under which the federal government gives annual grants to states, the District of
Columbia, U.S. territories and commonwealths, and Indian tribal organizations to operate1
multi-component home energy assistance programs for needy households. Established
in 1981 by Title XXVI of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (P.L. 97-35), LIHEAP
has been reauthorized and amended several times, most recently in 2005, when the Energy
Policy Act (P.L. 109-58) reauthorized annual regular LIHEAP funds at $5.1 billion per
year from FY2005 to FY2007. The total LIHEAP appropriation in the FY2008
Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 110-161) was approximately $2.57 billion. In


1 For additional information on LIHEAP, see CRS Report RL31865, The Low-Income Home
Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP): Program and Funding, by Libby Perl.

FY2007 Congress appropriated $2.16 billion for the program (P.L. 110-5), and in
FY2006, $3.161 billion was appropriated for LIHEAP (P.L. 109-149 and P.L. 109-204),
the largest amount ever appropriated for the program.
The LIHEAP statute provides for two types of program funding: regular funds and
contingency funds. This report focuses on the distribution of regular funds, sometimes
referred to as block grant funds, which are allotted to states according to methods
prescribed by the LIHEAP statute.2 The allotment method may change depending on the
amount of funds appropriated by Congress. In both FY2007 and FY2008, $1.98 billion
was allocated to regular funds, and in FY2006, $2.48 billion of the LIHEAP appropriation
was distributed as regular funds. The second type of LIHEAP funding, called contingency
funds, may be released and allotted to one or more states at the discretion of the President
and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contingency funds may be
released at any point in the fiscal year to meet additional home energy assistance needs
created by a natural disaster or other emergency.3 Of the total appropriated for LIHEAP
in FY2008, approximately $590 million was for contingency funds.
LIHEAP Block Grant Funding Levels
In the FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 110-161), Congress
appropriated $1.98 billion for the LIHEAP regular fund. P.L. 110-161 contained an
across-the-board rescission of 1.747% that reduced the stated amounts appropriated for
most Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education programs.4 The
$1.98 billion appropriation for regular funds is the amount available after this rescission.
The first distribution to the states of the regular funds appropriated in P.L. 110-161
occurred in December 2007. Then, on June 26, 2008, HHS announced that it would
distribute funds that were thought to have been allocated to leveraging incentive and
REACH grants in the FY2008 Appropriations Act as part of the regular fund formula
grants. Since the early 1990s, leveraging incentive and REACH grants have been made
to states and tribes on the basis of their ability to obtain non-LIHEAP resources for energy
assistance (leveraging incentive grants) and for increasing energy efficiency of low-
income households (REACH grants). In recent years, Congress has allocated around $27
million for these two funds. However, in FY2008, P.L. 110-161 did not appropriate funds
for leveraging incentive and REACH grants. When HHS discovered that language to
appropriate the funds was missing from the law, it released the $26.7 million that would
otherwise have been distributed as leveraging incentive and REACH grants as part of the
LIHEAP formula distribution. The addition of nearly $27 million to the formula grants
caused the funds to be released under the “new” LIHEAP formula. For more information
about how the LIHEAP formula distributes funds, see CRS Report RL33275, Low-Income
Home Energy Assistance Allocation Rates: Legislative History and Current Law.


2 See Section 2604(a)-(d) of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act (Title XXVI of P.L.

97-35), as amended. The section is codified at 42 U.S.C. §8623(a)-(d).


3 Depending on how Congress appropriates them, contingency funds may remain available for
distribution in more than one fiscal year or they may expire with the fiscal year for which they
were appropriated.
4 See Division G, Section 528 of P.L. 110-161.

Column (c) of Table 1 shows the amount of funds that were initially allocated to the
states in FY2008 before HHS discovered that the leveraging incentive grants had not been
appropriated in P.L. 110-161. Column (d) shows the total distributed to the states on June

26, 2008, which includes the $26.7 million in leveraging incentive grants. Column (b)


of Table 1 shows the amounts allocated to the states in FY2007. For FY2009, the
President has requested a total of $2 billion for LIHEAP; of this amount, $1.7 billion
would be allocated to regular funds. Column (e) of Table 1 shows estimated allocations
to the states at an appropriation of $1.7 billion. Column (a) shows the amount allotted to
each state in FY2006, when $2.48 billion was appropriated for LIHEAP regular funds.
Following Table 1, Table 2 shows estimated allocations to the states at various
hypothetical appropriations levels. These amounts are $1.75 billion, $2.0 billion, $2.25
billion, $2.5 billion, $2.75 billion, $3.0 billion, $4.0 billion, and $5.1 billion (the amount
at which LIHEAP regular funds were last authorized in P.L. 109-58).
Table 1. LIHEAP Actual State Block Grant Fund Allotments for
FY2006, FY2007, and FY2008, and Estimated Allotments for FY2009
($ in millions)
FY2008 FY2008 FY2009 Est.
FY2006 FY2007 Allotments AllotmentsAllotments at
ActualActualPrior to After President’s
Allotments:aAllotments: b6-26-08:c6-26-08:dRequest:e
$2.48 billion$1.98 billion$1.98 billion$1.98 billion$1.7 billion
State (a) (b) (c) (d) (d)
Alabama31.31016.76916.77417.111 14.365
Alaska12.57210.70410.70710.828 9.169
Arizona15.1428.1108.1128.275 6.947
Arkansas22.76512.79612.79913.057 10.961
California153.18489.96389.98591.797 77.062
Colorado31.72931.36731.37531.729 26.869
Connecticut47.80940.92040.93041.754 35.052
Delaware10.1415.4315.4335.542 4.652
District of Columbia7.8526.3556.3566.484 5.444
Florida49.54226.53426.54127.075 22.729
Georgia39.17020.97920.98521.407 17.971
Hawaii2.5552.1132.1132.137 1.810
Idaho14.37012.23512.23812.376 10.481
Illinois145.959113.259113.287114.565 97.017
Indiana53.98651.28051.29351.872 43.927
Iowa36.76236.34336.35236.762 31.131
Kansas26.79816.69016.69517.031 14.297
Kentucky44.34726.68626.69327.230 22.859
Louisiana32.01017.14417.14817.494 14.686
Maine26.81526.50926.51626.815 22.708
Maryland58.49931.33231.34031.971 26.839
Massachusetts82.79781.85381.87382.797 70.115
Michigan108.770107.529107.556108.770 92.109
Minnesota78.36377.46977.48878.363 66.359
Mississippi26.84314.37714.38114.670 12.315
Missouri59.54145.24045.25145.762 38.752
Montana16.85614.35114.35514.517 12.293
Nebraska21.10917.97317.97818.180 15.396
Nevada7.1123.8093.8103.887 3.263
New Hampshire18.19715.49315.49715.672 13.271
New Jersey77.54075.98876.00776.865 65.091



FY2008 FY2008 FY2009 Est.
FY2006 FY2007 Allotments AllotmentsAllotments at
ActualActualPrior to After President’s
Allotments:aAllotments: b6-26-08:c6-26-08:dRequest:e
$2.48 billion$1.98 billion$1.98 billion$1.98 billion$1.7 billion
State (a) (b) (c) (d) (d)
New Mexico11.92510.15310.15610.360 8.697
New York250.974248.112248.173250.974 212.531
North Carolina69.03836.97636.98537.730 31.674
North Dakota18.31015.59015.59415.770 13.354
Ohio122.259100.194100.219101.350 85.826
Oklahoma28.78015.41515.41815.729 13.204
Oregon24.59124.31124.31724.591 20.825
Pennsylvania134.810133.273133.306134.810 114.161
Rhode Island15.82513.47313.47713.629 11.541
South Carolina24.86713.31813.32213.590 11.408
South Dakota14.87112.66212.66512.808 10.846
Tennessee46.36327.03327.03927.584 23.156
Texas82.42144.14444.15545.044 37.814
Utah17.12014.57614.58014.745 12.486
Vermont13.63911.61311.61611.747 9.947
Virginia71.25938.16638.17538.944 32.692
Washington40.45039.98839.99840.450 34.254
West Virginia23.81817.66017.66517.935 15.128
Wisconsin70.53869.73369.75070.538 59.733
Wyoming6.8545.8365.8385.903 4.999
T o tal 2 ,449.16 1,949.83 1,950.314 1,977.027 1,670.213
Source: Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) final allocations for FY2006, FY2007 and
FY2008. Estimated allotments for FY2009 are CRS estimates based on factors provided by HHS.

Note: These estimates take into account current program practice where HHS sets aside funds out of the
regular LIHEAP fund appropriation for the territories, training and technical assistance, leveraging incentive
grants, and the Residential Energy Assistance Challenge Option Program (REACH). This has implications
for the total amount of funds going directly to the states. For example, an appropriation of $1.98 billion is
estimated to result in $1.95 billion in regular LIHEAP funds going directly to the states, after the amounts
for these set-asides are subtracted from the total appropriation.
a. The total regular fund appropriation for FY2006 was $2.48 billion, $1.98 billion of which was
appropriated in P.L. 109-149, and $500 million in P.L. 109-204. Initially, P.L. 109-149
appropriated $2.0 billion for regular funds, but the amount was subject to a 1% across-the-board
rescission, resulting in a $1.98 billion appropriation (P.L. 109-148). In addition, both training and
technical assistance and the leveraging incentive and REACH funds were reduced by 1% in
column (a).
b. Congress approved a year-long continuing resolution for FY2007 (P.L. 110-5), which was enacted on
February 15, 2007. The law provided that LIHEAP receive the same amount of funds for FY2007
that was appropriated for FY2006 in P.L. 109-149, as reduced by a 1% rescission (P.L. 109-148).
c. The initial allotments for FY2008 were slightly greater than for FY2007, despite the similar
appropriations levels, due to a 1.747% across-the-board rescission for most Departments of Labor,
Health and Human Services, and Education programs. See P.L. 110-161, Division G, Section 528.
This meant that set asides for leveraging incentive and REACH grants, and for training and
technical assistance, were slightly reduced from FY2007 levels.
d. On June 26, 2008, HHS released an additional $26.7 million in formula grants to the states. These funds
had been set aside for leveraging incentive and REACH grants until HHS realized that Congress
had not appropriated these funds in P.L. 110-161. As a result, distributions were re-calculated
under the “new” LIHEAP formula, and additional funds were provided to the states.
e. For FY2009, the President’s budget would allocate $27.225 million for leveraging incentive and
REACH grants, and $297,000 for training and technical assistance. The estimates at $1.7 billion
assume that these amounts would be set aside out of the regular LIHEAP fund.



CRS-5
Table 2. LIHEAP Estimated State Allotments
at Hypothetical Block Grant Fund Appropriations Levels
($ in millions)
$1.75 billion$2.0 billion$2.25 billion$2.5 billion$2.75 billion$3.0 billion$4.0 billion$5.1 billion
St a t e (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h)
Alabama 14.792 16.939 25.470 36.021 47.488 57.336 76.627 97.847
Alaska 9.442 10.812 11.392 12.673 13.955 15.236 20.363 26.002
Arizona 7 .153 8.192 12.318 17.420 22.966 27.814 39.351 50.249
Arkansas 11.287 12.925 19.435 26.709 29.410 32.111 42.914 54.799
California 79.353 90.872 126.272 140.478 154.684 168.889 225.712 288.218
Co lo rado 27.668 31.684 31.729 31.729 34.791 37.986 50.766 64.825
Co nnecticut 36.094 41.333 41.392 42.753 47.077 51.400 68.694 87.717
Delaware 4.791 5.486 8.249 10.734 11.819 12.905 17.246 22.022
iki/CRS-RS21605District of Columbia5.6056.4196.8577.6298.4009.17112.25715.652Florida23.40526.80240.30156.99775.14091.004134.996175.001
g/wGeorgia 18.505 21.191 31.864 45.065 59.410 71.952 106.735 138.365
s.or
leakHawaii 1.864 2.134 2.248 2.501 2.754 3.007 4.019 5.132
Idaho 10.792 12.359 13.021 14.486 15.951 17.416 23.275 29.721
://wikiIllinois 99.901 114.403 114.565 118.401 130.374 142.347 190.240 242.922
httpIndiana 45.232 51.798 51.872 54.540 60.055 65.571 87.632 111.899
Iowa 32.057 36.710 36.762 36.762 36.762 36.762 43.050 54.971
Kansas 14.722 16.859 24.526 27.285 30.044 32.803 43.840 55.980
Kentucky 23.539 26.956 37.463 41.677 45.892 50.107 66.965 85.509
Lo uisiana 15.122 17.317 26.039 36.826 46.325 50.579 67.597 86.316
Maine 23.383 26.777 26.815 26.815 26.815 26.815 28.625 36.551
Maryland 27.636 31.648 47.588 59.764 65.808 71.851 96.026 122.618
Massachusetts 72.199 82.680 82.797 82.797 82.797 90.332 120.724 154.156
Michigan 94.847 108.616 108.770 114.820 126.431 138.042 184.486 235.575
Minneso ta 68.332 78.251 78.363 78.363 78.363 78.363 78.363 90.633
Mississippi 12.682 14.522 21.837 27.293 30.053 32.813 43.853 55.996
Misso uri 39.904 45.697 55.406 61.639 67.872 74.105 99.038 126.464
Montana 12.659 14.496 15.273 16.991 18.709 20.428 27.300 34.861
Nebraska 15.853 18.155 19.127 21.279 23.431 25.583 34.190 43.658



CRS-6
$1.75 billion$2.0 billion$2.25 billion$2.5 billion$2.75 billion$3.0 billion$4.0 billion$5.1 billion
St a t e (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h)
Nevada 3.360 3.847 5.785 8.182 10.786 13.064 19.379 25.121
New Hampshire13.66615.65016.48818.34320.19822.05329.47237.634
New Jersey67.02676.75676.86576.86577.14184.225112.563143.734
New Mexico8.95610.25613.93415.50117.06918.63624.90631.804
New York218.850250.618250.974250.974250.974252.031336.827430.102
North Carolina32.61537.35056.16178.64686.59994.552126.364161.357
North Dakota13.75115.74716.59118.45720.32422.19029.65637.869
Ohio 88.377 101.207 101.350 111.388 122.652 133.916 178.972 228.534
Oklaho ma 13.597 15.570 23.412 33.111 39.479 43.105 57.607 73.560
Oregon 21.444 24.557 24.591 24.879 27.395 29.911 39.974 51.044
Pennsylvania 117.555 134.619 134.810 134.810 140.646 153.563 205.229 262.062
Rhode Island11.88413.61014.33915.95217.56519.17825.63132.728
iki/CRS-RS21605South Carolina11.74813.45320.22828.60837.71542.28256.50872.157
g/wSouth Dakota11.16812.79013.47514.99116.50718.02324.08630.756
s.or
leakT ennessee 23.844 27.306 41.058 50.724 55.854 60.983 81.501 104.071
T exas 38.938 44.590 67.047 94.823 125.009 151.400 224.589 291.143
://wikiUtah 12.857 14.724 15.513 17.258 19.003 20.748 27.729 35.407
httpVermont 10.243 11.730 12.358 13.749 15.139 16.529 22.091 28.208
Virginia 33.664 38.551 57.967 69.555 76.589 83.622 111.757 142.705
Washington 35.272 40.392 40.450 40.450 44.062 48.109 64.295 82.100
West Virginia15.57717.83921.29623.69226.08728.48338.06648.608
Wisconsin 61.509 70.438 70.538 70.538 70.538 70.538 83.632 106.792
Wyoming 5 .148 5.895 6.211 6.910 7.608 8.307 11.102 14.176
T o tal 1 ,719.868 1,969.529 2,219.191 2,468.852 2,718.513 2,968.175 3,966.821 5,065.331
Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS) calculations based on factors provided by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
in May 2007.
Note: For each of these estimates, $27.5 million for leveraging incentive grants, $300,000 for training and technical assistance, and the estimated
grants to the territories have been removed from the total hypothetical grant amounts.