FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, Mar. 4, 2003
Contact: ACF Press Office, 202-401-9215

HHS RELEASES ADDITIONAL $151.26 MILLION
IN LOW INCOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE FUNDS

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced the release of $151.26 million in Low Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) funding. This brings to $1.76 billion the total amount granted to states so far during fiscal year 2003 to support assistance to low-income persons for their home energy costs.

"We are giving states full access to the entire amount that Congress has provided for this fiscal year, and leaving it up to states to decide how much of their grant they wish to receive at this point in time," Secretary Thompson said. "This gives each state the maximum flexibility and support to use the funds that have been appropriated for this year in the manner they feel will serve their low-income families the best."

As of today's distribution, 33 states will have received 90 percent or more of their fiscal year 2003 LIHEAP funding.

"The cold weather and high energy prices make LIHEAP funding especially important this year," said Wade Horn, HHS assistant secretary for children and families. "We want states to have the resources to provide assistance to their low-income families immediately."

LIHEAP helps more than 4 million low-income households each year deal with energy costs related to extreme cold and heat. States determine which low-income families receive LIHEAP support. Many of the families who benefit from the program include small children, senior citizens and persons with disabilities.

The additional second quarter funds, and total funding so far this fiscal year -- including the $200 million contingency funding from January -- are as follows:

LIHEAP Grants

STATE	Additional Second Quarter Funding	FY 2003 to Date Funding (Regular Block and Contingency)
Alabama	$680,117	$14,619,037
Alaska	$309,833	$7,115,090
Arizona	$168,829	$3,821,882
Arkansas	$510,288	$10,947,958
California	$3,630,579	$78,050,633
Colorado	$1,066,109	$23,144,477
Connecticut	$1,483,495	$36,428,964
Delaware	$221,518	$5,275,962
Dist. of Col.	$832,254	$6,268,586
Florida	$1,081,933	$23,471,785
Georgia	$2,747,509	$20,315,389
Hawaii	$47,871	$1,083,205
Idaho	$436,304	$9,667,045
Illinois	$14,832,646	$109,620,545
Indiana	$1,859,109	$40,949,986
Iowa	$1,482,272	$32,238,691
Kansas	$6,395,298	$14,574,628
Kentucky	$3,494,883	$26,076,285
Louisiana	$699,232	$14,985,226
Maine	$2,193,269	$27,447,617
Maryland	$1,277,881	$29,237,367
Massachusetts	$3,337,082	$78,676,949
Michigan	$3,152,814	$71,100,302
Minnesota	$10,145,499	$77,485,487
Mississippi	$1,879,722	$13,844,430
Missouri	$1,845,136	$39,673,872
Montana	$441,513	$9,656,011
Nebraska	$4,458,233	$13,383,870
Nevada.	$138,089	$3,011,302
New Hampshire	$631,895	$15,525,660
New Jersey	$3,091,453	$71,847,135
New Mexico	$1,230,025	$9,053,313
New York	$32,297,196	$260,121,205
North Carolina	$1,154,108	$27,616,898
North Dakota	$3,120,192	$9,775,696
Ohio	$4,086,477	$89,114,042
Oklahoma	$619,832	$12,327,658
Oregon	$2,072,467	$22,691,253
Pennsylvania	$5,435,591	$124,632,594
Rhode Island	$1,759,520	$14,162,235
South Carolina	$452,662	$10,375,527
South Dakota	$1,175,620	$10,189,864
Tennessee	$918,778	$20,290,329
Texas	$5,781,216	$42,542,868
Utah	$595,164	$12,558,066
Vermont	$1,101,943	$12,181,928
Virginia	$1,349,055	$31,497,973
Washington	$3,294,620	$35,927,421
West Virginia	$720,282	$15,762,506
Wisconsin	$1,927,666	$45,020,307
Wyoming	$208,489	$4,509,586
State Net Totals	$143,873,568	$1,739,896,645
Tribe Totals	$5,063,951	$19,337,197
Subtotal	$148,937,519	$1,759,233,842
Territories	$2,325,066	$2,546,970
Total	$151,262,585	$1,761,780,812

The additional second quarter funds, and total funding so far can be viewed on the HHS Web site at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at www.hhs.gov/news.

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