Riley Slams Proposal to Eliminate Heating Assistance for 91,000 Upstate New Yorkers

Urges Congress to reject cuts to LIHEAP, which saves NY-19 families $50 million annually on their energy bills

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Josh Riley this week sent a letter to the House Appropriations Committee slamming President Trump's proposed budget, which would eliminate the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), urging lawmakers to fully fund the critical program instead.

If passed, the cuts would strip more than 91,000 NY-19 residents of a combined $50 million in annual utility assistance - money that for many families across the district's 11 counties is the difference between a warm home and a crisis.

"For a family in Delhi or Oneonta already stretched thin, losing this support doesn't mean cutting back, it means going without," said Riley. "Too many Upstate New Yorkers are making impossible choices between groceries and keeping the lights on, and I'm not going to stand by while Washington politicians make their lives even harder."

The proposal comes as energy costs surge across the country. Electricity prices have climbed by as much as 13 percent since the start of 2025, more than twice the rate of inflation, leaving more than 80 million Americans struggling to pay their energy bills. One in five households report forgoing basic necessities like food and medicine just to keep up, and 11 percent say they keep their home at an unhealthy or unsafe temperature because they can't afford to do otherwise.

In the letter, Riley and his colleagues urged the Committee to reject the President's proposal and fund LIHEAP at the highest possible level, writing that "Families need support now more than ever to afford the most basic household goods as energy costs and gasoline, food, and heating oil prices surge." The full letter is available here.

Riley's push to protect LIHEAP is part of his ongoing fight to lower utility bills for Upstate New Yorkers. He has:

• Opened an investigation into rising utility costs across Upstate New York
• Intervened to stop NYSEG's proposed rate hike and sued to overturn Central Hudson's approved rate increase
• Introduced the Keep the Lights Local Act to ban foreign ownership of Upstate's utilities
• Introduced the No Bonuses for Utility Executives Act, which would prohibit utility companies from paying executive bonuses when they raise rates on families
• Introduced the Weatherization Enhancement and Readiness Act to help families save up to $500 per month on their energy bills by making simple home improvements
• Founded the Congressional Lowering Utility Bills Caucus to hold utility companies accountable and find legislative solutions to the energy affordability crisis

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