Heating and Cooling Relief Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 893 To amend the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 to increase the availability of heating and cooling assistance, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 9, 2023 Mr. BOWMAN (for himself, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BUSH, Mr. CARSON, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Ms. CHU, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. COHEN, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. NORTON, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. MENG, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. NADLER, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. POCAN, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mrs. WAT- SON COLEMAN, and Ms. WILSON of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 to increase the availability of heating and cooling assistance, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Mar 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H893.IH H893 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 893 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Heating and Cooling 2 Relief Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds that: 5 (1) Energy remains unaffordable for low-income 6 households. Nationally, low-income households spend 7 a larger portion of their income on home energy 8 costs than other households. The average low-income 9 household’s energy burden is 3 times that of other 10 households. The report for the Household Pulse Sur- 11 vey of the Bureau of the Census, issued on Decem- 12 ber 22, 2021, noted that, for families with incomes 13 of less than $35,000 a year, about 51 percent said 14 that they reduced or went without basic household 15 necessities, such as medicine or food, in order to pay 16 an energy bill, for at least one month in the last 17 year. 18 (2) The Low-Income Housing Energy Assist- 19 ance Program was authorized by Congress to reduce 20 home energy burdens with heating and cooling as- 21 sistance. In 2019, only 16 percent of income-eligible 22 households received a subsidy under the program. 23 (3) Climate change is fueling increasingly in- 24 tense winter storms and extreme temperatures. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Mar 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H893.IH H893 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 893 IH (4) Heat waves are increasingly common as cli- 1 mate change accelerates, and now occur more often 2 in major cities across the United States. The aver- 3 age heat wave season across 50 cities is approxi- 4 mately 47 days longer now than it was in the 1960s. 5 As a result, the Federal Government should provide 6 further cooling assistance for communities in need. 7 (5) The loss of home energy service due to high 8 energy burdens is one of the primary reasons for 9 homelessness, especially for families with children. 10 In some housing contexts, loss of home energy serv- 11 ice is a grounds for eviction. 12 (6) The Federal Government should expand and 13 update the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance 14 Program, as part of a robust Federal social safety 15 net, to— 16 (A) protect families against unaffordable 17 home energy bills and home energy shutoffs, by 18 providing sufficient funding and imposing regu- 19 lations where necessary; 20 (B) ensure all low- and moderate-income 21 families have access to affordable home cooling 22 powered by renewable energy, which will enable 23 households to adapt to rising temperatures due 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Mar 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H893.IH H893 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 893 IH to climate change and promote climate resil- 1 iency; 2 (C) enhance outreach— 3 (i) by including nontraditional part- 4 ners, including home energy suppliers, 5 local educational agencies, and entities car- 6 rying out other programs for low-income 7 people, to assist with signups; and 8 (ii) by adding stronger provisions for 9 presumed eligibility and waiving docu- 10 mentation requirements for eligibility; and 11 (D) further Federal efforts to weatherize 12 housing for low- and moderate-income house- 13 holds, to help families struggling to pay their 14 home energy bills and to meet national clean 15 energy goals. 16 SEC. 3. FUNDING. 17 Section 2602 of the Low-Income Home Energy As- 18 sistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621) is amended— 19 (1) in subsection (b)— 20 (A) by striking ‘‘section 2607A)’’ and in- 21 serting ‘‘section 2604(f), 2607A, 2607B, or 22 2607C)’’; and 23 (B) by striking ‘‘$2,000,000,000’’ and all 24 that follows and inserting ‘‘$400,000,000,000 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Mar 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H893.IH H893 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 893 IH for the period of fiscal years 2024 through 1 2033.’’; 2 (2) in subsection (e), by inserting ‘‘, or arising, 3 for purposes of section 2604(e)(2), from a major 4 disaster or emergency, as defined in section 5 2604(e)(2)(A)’’ before the period at the end; and 6 (3) by adding at the end the following: 7 ‘‘(f) There is authorized to be appropriated to carry 8 out section 2604(f), $1,000,000,000 for each of fiscal 9 years 2023 through 2032. 10 ‘‘(g) There is authorized to be appropriated to carry 11 out section 2607C, including making grants under that 12 section, $1,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 13 through 2032.’’. 14 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 15 Section 2603 of the Low-Income Home Energy As- 16 sistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8622) is amended— 17 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 18 (6), (7) through (10), and (11), as paragraphs (5) 19 through (7), (9) through (12), and (14), respec- 20 tively; 21 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol- 22 lowing: 23 ‘‘(4) The term ‘HEAP coordinator’ means an 24 employee— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Mar 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H893.IH H893 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 893 IH ‘‘(A) who administers a program funded 1 under section 2602(b); and 2 ‘‘(B) whose salary is paid, partly or wholly, 3 with funds made available under that section.’’; 4 (3) by inserting after paragraph (7), as so re- 5 designated, the following: 6 ‘‘(8) The term ‘local coordinating agency’ 7 means any local organization or local office that re- 8 ceives funds under section 2602(b) to perform cus- 9 tomer intake, or approval of benefits, on behalf of 10 the State agency.’’; and 11 (4) by inserting after paragraph (12), as so re- 12 designated, the following: 13 ‘‘(13) The term ‘State agency’ means any State 14 agency that administers the program funded under 15 section 2602(b).’’. 16 SEC. 5. EMERGENCIES. 17 Section 2604(e) of the Low-Income Home Energy 18 Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8623(e)) is amended— 19 (1) by striking ‘‘(e)’’ and inserting ‘‘(e)(1)’’; 20 and 21 (2) by adding at the end the following: 22 ‘‘(2)(A) In this paragraph: 23 ‘‘(i) The term ‘covered household’ means an eli- 24 gible household in an area where the President, or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Mar 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H893.IH H893 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 893 IH the Secretary, as the case may be, has declared a 1 major disaster or emergency. 2 ‘‘(ii) The term ‘major disaster or emergency’ 3 means— 4 ‘‘(I) a major disaster or emergency de- 5 clared under section 401 or 501, respectively, of 6 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 7 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170, 8 5191); or 9 ‘‘(II) a public health emergency declared 10 under section 319 of the Public Health Service 11 Act (42 U.S.C. 247d). 12 ‘‘(B) Upon a declaration described in subparagraph 13 (A) for an area, the Secretary and the Administrator of 14 the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall, to the 15 extent practicable, provide heating or cooling assistance 16 to covered households in that area. 17 ‘‘(C) In particular, in the event of a major disaster 18 or other emergency due to a period of extreme heat (as 19 described in section 2604(f)(1)) or cold in an area, the 20 Secretary and the Administrator shall, to the extent prac- 21 ticable, provide cooling or heating assistance to covered 22 households in that area.’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Mar 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H893.IH H893 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 893 IH SEC. 6. ADDITIONAL COOLING ASSISTANCE FOR HEAT 1 WAVES. 2 Section 2604 of the Low-Income Home Energy As- 3 sistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8623) is amended by add- 4 ing at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(f)(1) In this subsection: 6 ‘‘(A) The term ‘additional cooling assistance’ 7 means cooling assistance provided under this sub- 8 section. 9 ‘‘(B) The term ‘extreme heat’ means heat that 10 exceeds local climatological norms in terms of any 1 11 or more of the following: 12 ‘‘(i) Duration. 13 ‘‘(ii) Intensity. 14 ‘‘(iii) Season length. 15 ‘‘(iv) Frequency. 16 ‘‘(C) The term ‘heat’ means any 1 or more of 17 the parameters associated with increasing human 18 temperature, such as air temperature, humidity, 19 solar exposure, and low wind speed. 20 ‘‘(D) The term ‘heat event’ means an occur- 21 rence of extreme heat that may have heat-health im- 22 plications. 23 ‘‘(E) The term ‘heat-health’ means health ef- 24 fects to humans from heat, during or outside of heat 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Mar 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H893.IH H893 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 893 IH events, including from vulnerability and exposure, or 1 the risk of such effects. 2 ‘‘(2) From funds made available under section 3 2602(f), the Secretary may provide grants to eligible enti- 4 ties, which shall be States, territories, or Indian Tribes, 5 for additional cooling assistance for heat events. 6 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall determine an allocation plan 7 for providing eligible entities with funding through the 8 grants to help eligible households respond to heat events. 9 ‘‘(4) To receive assistance under this subsection, an 10 eligible entity shall provide assurances to the Secretary 11 that— 12 ‘‘(A) the eligible entity will not preclude a 13 household that receives heating assistance under this 14 title during a calendar year, on the basis of obtain- 15 ing that assistance, from receiving cooling assistance 16 under this title during that year; and 17 ‘‘(B) the eligible entity will not require a house- 18 hold to indicate that a household member has a 19 medical need for cooling assistance under this title, 20 to be eligible for that assistance. 21 ‘‘(5) A eligible entity that receives additional cooling 22 assistance may use the assistance for purposes for which 23 cooling assistance is available under the program funded 24 under section 2602(b), including for providing energy-effi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Mar 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H893.IH H893 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 893 IH cient air conditioners, and other equipment needed for 1 home cooling, to eligible households.’’. 2 SEC. 7. ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS. 3 Section 2605 of the Low-Income Home Energy As- 4 sistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8624) is amended— 5 (1) in subsection (b)(2)— 6 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 7 (A), by inserting ‘‘, subject to subsection 8 (c)(1)(A),’’ after ‘‘only’’; 9 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking 10 ‘‘(B)’’ and all that follows through clause (ii) 11 and inserting the following: 12 ‘‘(B) households with— 13 ‘‘(i) incomes which do not exceed the 14 greater of— 15 ‘‘(I) an amount equal to 250 per- 16 cent of the poverty line that is defined 17 and revised as described in section 18 673 of the Community Services Block 19 Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902); or 20 ‘‘(II) an amount equal to 80 per- 21 cent of the State median income; or 22 ‘‘(ii) a monthly energy burden of 3 23 percent or more, as averaged across the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Mar 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H893.IH H893 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 893 IH calendar year preceding the determination 1 under this paragraph,’’; and 2 (C) in the matter following subparagraph 3 (B), by inserting before the semicolon the fol- 4 lowing: ‘‘, and the State may not exclude a 5 household from eligibility on the basis of citi- 6 zenship of 1 or more of the household mem- 7 bers’’; 8 (2) in subsection (c)(1)(A), by striking ‘‘assist- 9 ance to be provided under this title, including cri- 10 teria’’ and inserting ‘‘assistance to be provided 11 under this title, including— 12 ‘‘(i) certifying that the State and local co- 13 ordinating agencies in the State— 14 ‘‘(I) will allow applicants for the as- 15 sistance, to the greatest extent possible, to 16 self-attest that the applicants meet the cri- 17 teria in this title for an eligible household; 18 and 19 ‘‘(II) will not require the applicants to 20 submit proof of income, citizenship, or 21 need, to establish status as an eligible 22 household; and 23 ‘‘(ii) describing criteria’’; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Mar 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H893.IH H893 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 893 IH (3) in subsection (f), by adding at the end the 1 following: 2 ‘‘(3) For purposes of section 401(c), and the remain- 3 der of title IV, of the Personal Responsibility and Work 4 Opportunity Reconciliation of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1611(a), 5 1601 et seq.) assistance under this title should not be con- 6 sidered to be a Federal public benefit.’’; and 7 (4) in subsection (j), by striking ‘‘the State may 8 apply’’ and inserting ‘‘the State may, subject to sub- 9 section (c)(1)(A)(i), apply’’. 10 SEC. 8. CONDITIONS FOR FUNDING. 11 Section 2605 of the Low-Income Home Energy As- 12 sistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8624) is amended— 13 (1) in subsection (b)— 14 (A) in paragraph (1)(C), by inserting be- 15 fore the semicolon the following: ‘‘, using toxin- 16 free materials that do not contain asthmagens 17 or respiratory sensitizers, giving priority in the 18 use of those funds, to the greatest extent prac- 19 ticable, to supporting emerg [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]