Various advocacy groups and state lawmakers are urging Connecticut’s congressional delegation to fight proposed cuts to the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, The Associated Press reports.
Operation Fuel Inc. and the Connecticut Association for Community Action are holding a news conference at the state Capitol in Hartford on Tuesday to discuss how such cuts would affect lower-income households that receive assistance to help pay their energy bills.
The Campaign for Home Energy Assistance says President Barack Obama’s budget calls for cutting the program by 50 percent. In 2010, the fuel program provided assistance to 113,385 Connecticut households in 2010. There are roughly 460,000 households eligible for the help, with incomes below 150 percent of the federal poverty level.
The average benefit was $863. Many recipients were elderly, disabled or have young children.
