WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Subcommittee, announced today that Iowa has been awarded $3,451,729 through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) emergency contingency fund. The funding will help eligible Iowans meet home energy costs and stay warm during the long winter months. Today's funding is in addition to the $67 million Senator Harkin previously secured for the state in Fiscal Year 2011, bringing Iowa's total LIHEAP funding to $70.5 million this year.
"During the harsh winter months, too many Iowans are forced to choose between paying heating bills and other necessities," Senator Harkin said. "This funding will help give thousands of low-income households, especially those with young children and elderly, a little breathing room so they can make it through the season."
A nationwide survey of households receiving LIHEAP aid found that 42 percent of recipients went without medical or dental insurance and 32 percent went without food for at least one day. In 2009, the latest year for which data is available, 95,234 Iowan households received LIHEAP assistance - one of the highest numbers on record for the state.
For more information on Senator Harkin's work on LIHEAP, please click here.
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