Pierluisi Announces That Puerto Rico Families Will Receive Over $13.7 Million in Federal Funding to Reduce their Electricity Bills in Fiscal Year 2015 | Res. Comm. Pedro Pierluisi

San Juan, Puerto Rico—Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi announced today that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will allocate over $13.7 million to Puerto Rico in Fiscal Year 2015 under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, known as LIHEAP, which helps low-income households pay their electricity bills.  This is a nearly $10 million increase above what Puerto Rico received just two year ago in Fiscal Year 2013.  Because of Pierluisi’s efforts, HHS increased the amount of LIHEAP funding provided to Puerto Rico and the other territories, beginning in Fiscal Year 2014.  As a direct result, Puerto Rico went from receiving less than $4 million per year to now receiving between $13 million and $15 million per year, depending on how much overall funding Congress appropriates for the program.

Under the old formula, approximately 250,000 individuals in Puerto Rico received assistance under LIHEAP.  With the increase in funding, it should be possible to provide assistance to hundreds of thousands of additional island residents.

“Puerto Rico has always been treated unequally under LIHEAP, receiving less than it would if it were a state.  In the 1981 federal law that established LIHEAP, Congress directed HHS to allocate each year, for the five territories to share, no less than 0.10 percent and no more than 0.50 percent of the total LIHEAP appropriation,” said Pierluisi.

“According to the law, the percentage annually allocated by HHS is supposed to be determined on the basis of need in the territories.  However, since the inception of LIHEAP, HHS had provided exactly 0.135 percent for the territories each year, which is just barely above the minimum level authorized by law.  As a result, many low-income families in Puerto Rico have received less assistance than similarly-situated families in the 50 states, or no assistance at all,” added the Resident Commissioner.

Deeply concerned with this disparity, in 2011 Pierluisi began to lead an effort by the territory delegates to persuade HHS to increase the funding provided to the territories to the maximum amount allowed under law—0.50 percent—in light of multiple factors, including the high cost of electricity in these island jurisdictions, where residents pay at least twice the national average.  To support his argument, the Resident Commissioner provided HHS with a significant amount of empirical evidence, including detailed charts and graphs.

This effort ultimately was successful.  In November 2013, HHS called Pierluisi to notify him that the agency had completed its review of his request, and that Puerto Rico and the other territories would receive 0.50 percent going forward.  As a result, Puerto Rico received close to $15 million in Fiscal Year 2014 and will receive almost $14 million this fiscal year, a major increase over what the island previously received.

“HHS acknowledged that, given the level of need, Puerto Rico and the other territories have been significantly underfunded under LIHEAP as compared to the states, and that a funding increase was therefore justified,” said Pierluisi.

“Although Puerto Rico is still not treated equally under this program, we are treated much better than we were before, and this additional funding will help many hard-working families in Puerto Rico afford their electricity bills,” added the Resident Commissioner.

As a result of Resident Commissioner’s efforts, annual funding is nearly $10 million greater than it was previously

Pierluisi Announces That Puerto Rico Families Will Receive Over $13.7 Million in Federal Funding to Reduce their Electricity Bills in Fiscal Year 2015 | Res. Comm. Pedro Pierluisi