skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Saturday, November 2, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump attacks Liz Cheney using violent war imagery; Election insights: What 50 Ohioans want to hear from candidates; Consumer groups slam CA Supreme Court ruling on lemon law; On National Brush Day, new resources in KY to boost oral health.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Harris says her campaign is prepared for Trump to prematurely claim victory, Pennsylvania election officials say safeguards in the system are preventing vote fraud, and Montana Senate race could hinge on the "political refugee" vote.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A Cambodian poultry farmer who lost his livelihood could be a hero for others, rural Montanans are anxiously awaiting a court ruling over a climate lawsuit brought by young people, and Northeast states say more housing for working families could boost jobs.

DHS Proposing Cutting Heat Assistance

play audio
Play

Tuesday, July 11, 2017   

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Responding to the threat of a cut at the federal level, Pennsylvania's Department of Human Services has proposed reducing the budget for home heating assistance. Calling it a "lower-impact program," President Trump wants to eliminate the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP.

DHS officials want to be prepared if funding is reduced, so they've proposed a 25-percent cut to program funding in Pennsylvania.

But according to Maripat Pileggi, staff attorney at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, about 348,000 Pennsylvanian families relied on LIHEAP grants to get through the latest heating season.

"We are really afraid that a LIHEAP cut would mean more cold kids, more cold seniors, more cold people with disabilities and more lives at risk," she says.

DHS is holding public hearings on the proposed cut Tuesday in Harrisburg and on Thursday in Pittsburgh.

DHS says if the cuts go through and the state then gets more money than anticipated, money could be restored to the program. But Pileggi thinks making cuts now would send the wrong message.

"What we hope is that DHS will send a really clear message to the federal government that we need full federal funding so that we can operate an effective program in Pennsylvania," she explains.

The DHS proposal also would end the LIHEAP heating season earlier and reduce the maximum crisis grant by $100.

Pileggi notes that if the federal program is cut, the state currently has no plan to step in to provide needed home-heating assistance.

"We're one of the few cold-weather states that doesn't have some state funding available for heating assistance," she adds. "So we certainly hope that's something that we could see in Pennsylvania."

In the winter of 2015-16, Pennsylvania households received a total of $159 million of assistance from LIHEAP.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Signal Ohio found overarching issues such as climate change, reproductive rights and safety were on the minds of many Ohioans. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

As Election Day approaches, the online outlet Signal Ohio interviewed 50 people across Cleveland and Akron to find out what is on the minds of …


Environment

play sound

Wild Chinook salmon have returned to the Upper Klamath River less than two months after the largest dam-removal project in U.S. history to remove …

Social Issues

play sound

Millions of Californians buy used cars still under a manufacturer's warranty - but consumer groups say those warranties are now essentially unenforcea…


Even with the rise of social media and email blasts, traditional "Get Out the Vote" rallies are seen by experts as key to helping boost participation in elections. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Political rallies and large-scale "get out the vote" events might conjure images of a packed arena in a major city but in states like North Dakota…

Environment

play sound

As North Carolina communities continue to pick up the pieces after Hurricane Helene, they have faced a new obstacle: A surge of misinformation is …

As of Oct. 31, Minnesota election offices had accepted nearly 1 million absentee ballots. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

In the final sprint toward Election Day, some Minnesotans might worry their absentee ballot won't arrive in time. Experts say there's no cause for …

Social Issues

play sound

New York's affordable housing crisis is being made worse by corporate landlords, according to groups trying to reform the system. The state …

Social Issues

play sound

By Mariah Alanskas for Kent State NewsLab.Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi reporting for the Kent State-Ohio News Connection Collaboration…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021