for heating and cooling assistance for those in need is on the line.

As part of the cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services earlier this month,

the Trump administration reportedly fired the staff that runs the low-income home energy assistance program, or LIHEAP.

That program helps about 6.2 million low-income households nationwide pay their home energy bills.

Congress already approved funds for the program for fiscal year 2025, but with the staff gone,

the rest of the allocated money is currently frozen. For more on this, we're joined by Logan

Atkinson Burke, Executive Director for the Alliance for Affordable Energy, that's a consumer

and environmental advocacy group in the state of Louisiana.

Logan, welcome to the News Hour.

Thanks for joining us.

Thank you so much for covering this issue.

So this is a program started by Congress back in 1981.

When we're talking about over six million households nationwide who use it. Who are we talking

about generally? And where are they, geographically speaking? Sure. These Reagan-era block grants,

these are incredibly powerful programs, really hit every kind of household across our country,

but really focusing in on the elderly, on families

with young children, and those who are disabled.

And the programs serve to help people pay to keep the lights on, especially during the

summer and the wintertime.

These kinds of programs mean that in the most dangerous

part of the year, when it's incredibly hot or cold, that people can simply stay safe and healthy

in their homes and then also meet their other basic needs. So the program, to be clear here,

...