Summary
On January 30, 2014, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released $454 million in Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) block grant funds. States received an initial release of $2.9 billion in federal fiscal year (FY) 2014 funds in November 2013. With this second notice, ACF has released $3.390 billion of the $3.425 billion appropriated for the program in FY 2014. At this time, ACF is holding back $34 million (1%) of the total funding. Overall, LIHEAP funding increased by 5.2% in FY 2014, preceded by a -6.2% reduction in FY 2013 and a -26.1% decline in FY 2012. Moreover, Puerto Rico and the territories receive a significant increase in FY 2014 because the secretary of HHS announced that the set-aside for territories will increase to the statutory maximum.