SEIU Local 668, the labor union representing public assistance caseworkers across Pennsylvania, condemns the decision by the Trump Administration to fire all federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) staff and risk the issuance of future energy assistance to working families. With no staff in place for weeks now, there remains no plan to distribute the remaining $378 million in congressionally-appropriated LIHEAP funding for this season, threatening the safety of vulnerable residents across the country and in our Commonwealth.

As a result, funds needed to ensure families remain warm in winter and cool in summer are left sitting unspent and unassigned to the families who need them most. Without the effective administration of LIHEAP, thousands of Pennsylvanians risk utility shut-offs as summer approaches.

Many of the in-state LIHEAP workers we represent now face uncertain futures. These workers care not just about their jobs but also about the residents they serve - residents now at greater risk of utility shutoffs with potentially catastrophic financial and health-related consequences.

We call on Congress to take immediate action to demand that the Trump administration fulfill its obligation to the public and enable the proper distribution of LIHEAP funding to the people. The Trump administration must reinstate the federal workers who staffed the LIHEAP program and allow them to continue serving the working class in America, not use them as a pseudo cost-cutting talking point to cut taxes for billionaires. Without LIHEAP, we risk pushing working families into crisis.

Our members at the Department of Human Services see the real-world impact of this decision every day. They know our communities deserve better. We urge swift action to ensure that both the services and the workers who provide them are preserved.