Miami, FL — The CLEO Institute is deeply concerned about the mass firings at the Department of Health and Human Services which eliminated the entire staff of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). This decades-long federal initiative that has been operating since the 1980s is a lifeline for millions of vulnerable families across the United States. LIHEAP provides support to approximately 6.2 million low-income households to afford electricity and gas bills. Federal funds are authorized by Congress and directed to state programs that administer the assistance.

Just last year, 140,000 households in Florida received some $117 million in federal funding helping the state’s most vulnerable families keep cool during extreme heat. Without this continued federal funding, states may or may not sustain these programs, risking severe cuts—or even the complete elimination. Without assistance, many families will be unable to pay their power bills and end up sweltering in the summer heat or freezing in the winter — or even dying. In Florida, the consequences will be dire.

Heat-related deaths are the leading cause of death for weather-related events. In 2023 alone, a record number of people in the U.S. died from extreme heat, according to an Associated Press analysis of CDC data. More than 2,300 death certificates from that summer mention the effects of excessive heat — the highest number recorded in the past 45 years.

“The termination of LIHEAP is a devastating blow to our most vulnerable communities,” said Yoca Arditi-Rocha, CEO of The CLEO Institute. “In places like Florida, access to energy should not be a luxury; it must be a basic human right. Without this assistance, countless families will be forced to make impossible choices between cooling their homes and other essential needs. This decision undermines decades of progress and could cost many humans lives.”

“The LIHEAP has been critical in helping families like mine traverse difficult financial periods. As a mother and active community member, losing this program means keeping families who are already enduring hardship in the dark, literally,” said Rochelle Jackson, CLEO Institute Empowering Resilient Women (ERW) Program Fellow. “It means that we’ll be unable to prepare home-cooked meals for our families, endure hot summer days, and watch our children struggle to complete basic activities like homework after the sun goes down.”

As the changing climate fuels more frequent and extreme weather events, reliable and affordable access to energy is more critical than ever. The CLEO Institute urges leaders at every level to act swiftly to restore and strengthen programs like LIHEAP that help communities remain safe, healthy, and resilient in a rapidly warming world.