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Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
Division of Energy Assistance/OCS/ACF
LIHEAP Allotments for FY 2002
THIS CONTAINS INFORMATION ISSUED BY THE U.S. ADMINISTRATION FOR
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN LIHEAP INFORMATION MEMORANDUM TRANSMITTAL
NO. LIHEAP-IM-2002-6, DATED 2/1/02
TO: LOW INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (LIHEAP)
GRANTEES AND OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES
SUBJECT: LIHEAP Allotments for FY 2002
RELATED
REFERENCES: Public Law 107-116, Departments of Labor, Health
and Human Services, and Education, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002; and the Low-
Income Home Energy Assistance Act, Title XXVI of
the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981
(Public Law 97-35), as amended.
PURPOSE: To advise grantees of allocations for FY 2002
regular LIHEAP block grant funds based on the
funding level of $1.7 billion.
CONTENT: The Department of Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act, 2002 (Public Law 107-116) was
signed by the President on January 10, 2002. This
law appropriates FY 2002 funds for the Department
of Health and Human Services and several other
agencies. Public Law 107-116 provides $1.7
billion in regular block grant funds for the
LIHEAP program. It also appropriates emergency
contingency funds of $300 million for LIHEAP in FY
2002. There are no provisions for advance LIHEAP
funding for FY 2003.
Listed below is a detailed description of the
FY 2002 LIHEAP block grant funds uses. Charts
showing FY 2002 allotments for each State,
territory and tribal grantee are attached. Also
attached are copies of the relevant statute and
committee reports. The funds were allocated using
a formula developed when LIHEAP was originally
established. The LIHEAP statute requires us to
use the percentages derived from that formula in
any year when the block grant (i.e., non-
contingency) appropriation is less than $1.975
billion.
FY 2002 LIHEAP Block Grant Funding
The Departments of Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act, 2002 (Public Law 107-116),
signed by the President on January 10, 2002,
appropriated funds for HHS programs for FY 2002
and provided an appropriation for LIHEAP regular
block grant funds of $1,700,000,000 for FY 2002,
which began on October 1, 2001 and ends on
September 30, 2002. Since October 1, 2001, a
series of continuing resolutions (CRs) were passed
by Congress, which provided a percentage of funds
for the LIHEAP program based on the FY 2001
appropriation level of $1,400,000,000.
The FY 2002 funds available under the CRs enabled
us to make normal first quarter grant awards to
States and full grants to tribal grantees when
they submitted complete funding applications.
Also, sufficient funds were available under the
CRs to allow us to honor States' first and second
quarter allocation percentage requests. We began
making second quarter grants on January 2.
Shortly after the FY 2002 appropriations bill was
passed on January 10, we recalculated grant
allocations based on the revised appropriation
level of $1.7 billion, and began making
supplemental grant awards as soon as possible to
all LIHEAP grantees to reflect the additional
funding.
Another provision of Public Law 107-116 provided
for a reduction of $25 million, of which $17.4
million was charged against HHS. None of that
reduction was assessed against the LIHEAP
program. Accordingly, no deductions will be made
from the LIHEAP appropriation for that purpose.
At least 90% of a grantee's total regular block
grant allotment for FY 2002 must be obligated
for use by September 30, 2002. No more than
10% of this total may be carried over to FY
2003, and those carryover funds must be obligated
no later than September 30, 2003.
Of the $1.7 billion appropriated for FY 2002,
$27,500,000 is earmarked for the leveraging
program grant awards, including leveraging
incentive fund grants and funds for the
Residential Energy Assistance Challenge Option
Program (REACH). As allowed by the LIHEAP
statute, we are setting aside the full 25% of
leveraging funds permitted for the REACH program.
This means that $20,625,000 will be available for
leveraging incentive awards and $6,875,000 will be
available for REACH grants in FY 2002.
Under the LIHEAP statute, grantees desiring
leveraging incentive funds or REACH funds
must submit a separate application to HHS each
year. Applications for FY 2002 leveraging
incentive award funds (based on leveraging
activities carried out during FY 2001), must have
been postmarked no later than November 30, 2001.
Information on applying for FY 2002 REACH funds
will be forthcoming.
In addition, we set aside the full $300,000
of FY 2002 funds allowed for training and
technical assistance projects. If we later
determine that less money is needed for this
purpose, we will redistribute the unused funds to
the grantees.
Attachment (1) shows the calculation of regular
block grant allotments for FY 2002 for States
and territories, with each State's formula
share in the column marked "Allocation Percents".
Using these percents, we calculated each State's
Gross Allotment, which appears in the next column.
Grants to Indian tribes and tribal organizations
were deducted from their State's share (i.e., its
"gross allotment") and were determined either by
calculating each tribe's number of eligible
households as a percentage of the number of
eligible households in the State(s) in which it is
located, or by awarding a higher amount specified
in a State-Tribe agreement. Total tribal grantee
allotments (or tribal set-aside) for each State
are shown in the following column. The final
column shows each State's Net Allotment, that is,
the amount of the gross allotment available to the
States after deducting the Indian tribal set-
asides. Grant awards are made as soon as grantees
submit completed applications.
Attachment (2) shows a breakout of the FY 2002
allocations for individual Indian tribes and
tribal organizations that are directly funded
by HHS. These amounts, in some cases, may
increase if States and tribes enter into or modify
agreements to provide additional funding.
FY 2002 LIHEAP Emergency Contingency Funds
Public Law 107-116, the FY 2002 Labor/HHS/Education,
also provides a LIHEAP appropriation for FY 2002 of
$300,000,000 for energy emergency contingency
purposes, to be made available only if the President
submits a formal budget request to the Congress that
designates the entire amount of the request as an
emergency requirement under the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. These
funds are in addition to the $300 million in
LIHEAP emergency funds appropriated in the
Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2001 (Public
Law 107-20, signed into law on July 24, 2001).
Unlike the $300 million in contingency funds
available under the FY 2002 appropriations, these
funds are available until expended (no-year
funds). None of the $300 million has been
released from the supplemental appropriations
bill. Therefore, $600 million is the total amount
of LIHEAP energy emergency contingency funds
available for distribution in FY 2002.
Under the terms of the contingency fund provision,
the President could request all, part or none
of the newly appropriated $300 million in FY 2002.
If the President decides to release any of
the funds, the Secretary of HHS may allot them
to one or more than one grantee affected by the
emergency or disaster taking into account, among
other things, the availability of other resources
to the affected grantee or other factors as the
Secretary determines to be relevant. We will
advise you if the President decides to release any
of these funds. If not released by the President,
the $300 million appropriated by Public Law 107-
116 will expire on September 30, 2002.
ATTACHMENTS: (1) LIHEAP Allocations (Gross and Net Allotments)
for all States and Territories for FY 2002 funds
at the funding level of $1,700,000,000, including
$27.5 million earmarked for leveraging incentive
grants and REACH
(2) LIHEAP Allocations for Indian tribes and
tribal organizations receiving direct funding
from HHS for FY 2002 funds at the funding level
of $1,700,000,000, including $27.5 million
earmarked for leveraging incentive grants and
REACH
(3) A copy of relevant portions of Public Law
107-116 and Congressional committee reports on it
INQUIRIES TO: Nick St. Angelo, Acting Director
Division of Energy Assistance
Office of Community Services, ACF, HHS
370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20447
Telephone: (202) 401-5306
Fax: (202) 401-5661
E-mail: nst.angelo@acf.dhhs.gov
_______________/s_____________
Clarence H. Carter
Director
Office Of Community Services
[DOCID: f:hr342.107]
From the House Reports Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
107th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 107-342
======================================================================
MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN
SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES FOR THE FISCAL YEAR
ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2002, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
_______
December 19 (legislative day, December 8), 2001.--Ordered to be printed
low income home energy assistance
For making payments under title XXVI of the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1981, $1,700,000,000.
For making payments under title XXVI of the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1981, $300,000,000: Provided, That these
funds are for the unanticipated home energy assistance needs of
one or more States, as authorized by section 2604(e) of the
Act: Provided further, That these funds are hereby designated
by Congress to be emergency requirements pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985: Provided further, That these funds shall
be made available only after submission to Congress of an
official budget request by the President that includes
designation of the entire amount of the request as an emergency
requirement as defined in the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985.
Administration for Children and Families
Low Income Home Energy Assistance
The conference agreement specifies that the contingency
funds are for the unanticipated home energy assistance needs of
one or more States, consistent with language contained in the
House bill. The Senate bill did not include such a provision.
The conference agreement specifies that the contingency
funds shall be made available only after submission to the
Congress of an official budget request as proposed by the
Senate, instead of a formal budget request as proposed by the
House.
The conferees note that the amount provided by the
Congress in the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2001 was
$150,000,000 more than requested by the Administration because
of serious concerns about low-income households which had
experienced significant increases in their home heating costs
during the harsh winter of the past year. In addition, many
States exhausted their LIHEAP allocations as the program served
one million households more than it had in the previous year.
The conferees are concerned that the combination of
circumstances, according to objective data sources, has left
many low income households with utility debts at levels
considerably higher than the previous year, while applications
for this coming heating season are coming in at rates
significantly higher than last year. Therefore, the conferees
encourage the Administration to release funds to reduce the
energy burden on low income households throughout the nation.
The conferees recognize that the contingency fund was
authorized to meet the additional home energy assistance needs
of one or more States arising from a natural disaster or other
emergency, which includes a significant increase in the cost of
home energy, a significant increase in home energy
disconnections or a significant increase in unemployment,
layoffs, or the number of households applying for unemployment
benefits. The conferees understand that the latest Department
of Labor employment data indicate the unemployment rate has
risen almost one full percentage point in the last two months,
while payroll employment has fallen by almost 800,000.
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URL: http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/liheap
Posted on 2/14/02
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