By Jie Jenny Zou

A program New Yorkers have long relied on to keep their homes warm in the winter and cool in the summer could be on the chopping block, putting vulnerable households at increased risk for severe illness or death amid soaring utility costs.  The national Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) faces an uncertain future following drastic cutbacks announced last week by the Trump administration.

The program’s entire federal staff was laid off last week as part of a massive restructuring at the Department of Health and Human Services, leaving the status of pending and future funding unclear.  “How could there be any program moving forward?” asked Laurie Wheelock of the Public Utility Law Project of New York, a nonprofit that advocates for energy affordability across the state. “That’s really worrisome.”