The Biden administration said Wednesday it would make $4.5 billion available through a low-income home energy assistance program to help lower heating costs heading into what is expected to be a brutal winter.
The money, which comes partly from President Joe Biden’s economic rescue plan, will go to heating and utility bill costs, and can be used to help families make home energy repairs, the White House said.
The announcement comes in the waning days before the Nov. 8 election. Democrats are trying to contrast their efforts to help middle and low-income people through Biden’s major infrastructure deal and other legislative measures with Republican suggestions they would use the debt limit as leverage for cuts to Social Security and Medicare benefits and other federal programs.
