Sierra Club Reaction: DOGE & Trump Fired Entire Staff for Program that Helps People Afford Energy Bills

"...the American people will pay a very steep price for the gutting of vital programs like LIHEAP."

April 2, 2025

Washington, DC - The entire staffof the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program was fired as part of sweeping cuts to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The program providescritical help "to reduce the costs associated with home energy bills, energy crises, weatherization, and minor energy-related home repairs."

LIHEAP helps Americans afford the energy they need to keep their homes safe, powered, and habitable, especially during extreme heat and cold events.

In response, Deputy Director of Sierra Club's Building Electrification Campaign Amneh Minkara released the following statement:

"The elimination of the staff administering LIHEAP could have dire, potentially deadly, impacts for folks who will not be able to safely cool their homes as we enter what is predicted to be another historically hot summer. This is an especially distressing move at a time when the Trump administration's policies are driving up the cost of energy, and other critical goods, even higher. Like so many other 'DOGE' cuts, the American people will pay a very steep price for the gutting of vital programs like LIHEAP."

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About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.

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