LIHEAP Allotments under the FY 2006 Energy Emergency Contingency Fund-THIRD DISTRIBUTION
THIS CONTAINS INFORMATION ISSUED BY THE U.S. ADMINISTRATION FOR
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN LIHEAP INFORMATION MEMORANDUM TRANSMITTAL
NO. LIHEAP-IM-2006-12, DATED 12/12/06
TO: LOW INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (LIHEAP)
GRANTEES AND OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES
SUBJECT: LIHEAP Allotments under the FY 2006 Energy
Emergency Contingency Fund--THIRD DISTRIBUTION
RELATED The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, as amended
REFERENCES: (Public Law (P.L.) 109-204); the Departments of
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education,
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006
(P.L. 109-149); the Department of Defense
Appropriations Act, 2006 (P.L. 109-148); the
Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2005 (P.L.
108-447); and the Low-Income Home Energy
Assistance Act, Title XXVI of the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1981 (P.L. 97-35), as
amended.
PURPOSE: To provide grantees with information on the
September 12, 2006 distribution of LIHEAP
emergency contingency funds to 14 States and
Indian tribes/tribal organizations. A total of
$79.96 million was made available to the States,
and to the Indian tribes/tribal organizations
within those States, who are expected to face
significant heating oil price increases for the
upcoming winter. This is the third distribution
of LIHEAP emergency contingency funds in FY 2006.
BACKGROUND: The Human Services Amendments of 1994 (Public Law
103-252) amended Section 2602(e) of the LIHEAP
statute to provide for a permanent authorization
of an emergency contingency fund. Under this
provision, up to $600,000,000 may be made
available each fiscal year, in addition to other
funds that may be appropriated, "to meet the
additional home energy assistance needs of one or
more States [grantees] arising from a natural
disaster or other emergency." Funds appropriated
under this section are considered to be emergency
requirements under the terms of Section
251(b)(2)(D) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985 and are to be made
available only after the President submits a formal
budget request to the Congress for all or a part
of the funds appropriated under this section,
provided that the request designates the amount
requested as such an emergency requirement.
Section 2604(g) of the LIHEAP statute, as amended
in 1994 by Public Law 103-252, provides that the
Secretary of HHS may allot any funds made
available under Section 2602(e) to one or more
States [grantees], taking into account the extent
to which the State was affected by the emergency
or disaster, the availability of other resources
to the grantees under LIHEAP or any other program,
and such other factors that are deemed relevant.
Public Law (P.L.) 109-149 was signed by the
President on December 30, 2005 and included an
appropriation of $183 million for LIHEAP emergency
contingency purposes. A provision of P.L. 109-148
provided for a 1 percent rescission to these
funds, reducing the total to $181.17 million.
P.L. 109-149 further provided that the emergency
contingency funds appropriated for FY 2006 are "to
remain available until September 30, 2006." P.L.
109-204 provided a supplemental appropriation of
$1 billion to the LIHEAP program, of which $500
million were designated as block grant funds and
$500 million as emergency contingency funds. The 1
percent rescission that was applied to the
December appropriation did not affect these funds.
However, P.L. 109-204 provided that none of the $1
billion could be used by LIHEAP grantees for
administrative or planning costs.
In addition to the total $681.17 million
appropriated for FY 2006, $20.35 million of no-
year emergency funds were carried over from FY
2005. This made $701.52 million of LIHEAP
emergency contingency funds available for release
or transfer over the course of FY 2006.
Please refer to LIHEAP-IM-2006-8, dated June 15,
2006, for more information on FY 2006 LIHEAP
appropriations; including details about the
initial appropriation, details about the
supplemental, and the text of the various Public
Laws referenced in this Information Memorandum.
On January 5, 2006, HHS released $100 million to
States, Territories and Indian tribes/tribal
organizations under the LIHEAP program because of
record increases in the costs of home heating fuel
prices-particularly for fuel oil, natural gas and
liquefied petroleum gas (i.e., propane)-during the
winter. On March 23, 2006, HHS released $500
million to 25 States because of the continuing
high costs of home heating fuels. This left
$101.52 million available for release for the
remainder of FY 2006. See LIHEAP Information
Memorandum Transmittal No. LIHEAP-IM-2006-9 for
additional details about the January 5, 2006 and
the March 23, 2006 releases.
In June, funds were transferred from several HHS
programs, including $1.21 million from the LIHEAP
Emergency Contingency fund, for the HHS Medicare
initiative. This left $100.31 million available
for emergency allotments for the rest of FY 2006.
CONTENT: Criteria for the September 12, 2006 Release
On September 12, 2006, HHS released $79.96 million
to the States because of large increases in home
heating oil prices that are anticipated for the
upcoming winter. As was the case in the March 23,
2006 release, these funds were targeted to the
States that had the coldest temperatures during
the past heating season. The method for allotting
these funds provided that:
. 15% or more of an eligible State's low income
households had to use heating oil as its primary
heating fuel and
. An eligible State's average population-weighted
temperature from October 1, 2005 to March 31, 2006
had to be at or below 47 degrees Fahrenheit.
States had to meet both conditions to be eligible
to receive these funds. A total of 14 states met
both conditions. We allotted the funds to these
States, and to the Indian tribes/tribal
organizations within these states, according to
the following method:
. We weighted each eligible State's FY 1982 ("old
formula") block grant allotment ratio by its
relative percentage of low income households who
use heating oil for heat.
. We allotted funds to each eligible State based on
the proportion of its weighted old formula block
grant allotment ratio to the sum of the weighted
old formula block grant allotment ratios of all
the eligible States. This consisted of the
gross allotment for each State.
. Indian tribes and tribal organizations within
each State received a share of the contingency
funds based on their relative percentage of
regular block grant funds from the State.
. We calculated each State's net allotment by
subtracting the total amount allotted to the
Indian tribes/tribal organizations within the
State from the State's gross allotment.
You can view the State and Indian tribe/tribal
organization allotments (Attachment 1.)
Special Rules on Obligation of Funds
The LIHEAP emergency contingency funds released on
September 12, 2006 have no special restrictions on
their use. Grantees may use these funds for any
purpose authorized under LIHEAP; including heating
assistance, crisis assistance, weatherization and
administrative costs, subject to normal LIHEAP
restrictions. Because we released these funds
close to the end of FY 2006, we waived the 90%
rule on the obligation of these funds in FY 2006,
but all of the funds must be obligated no later
than September 30, 2007 (i.e., before the end of
FY 2007). The $79.96 million contingency funds are
not subject to the 10 percent carryover limit for
regular block grant funds and may not be added to
the base on which the carryover limit for regular
funds is calculated.
Emergency Contingency Funds Remaining
The $20.35 million in no-year funds from the FY
2005 appropriation were not released in FY 2006.
Therefore, these funds may be released in FY 2007
and beyond, in the event of a heating or cooling
emergency. The $20.35 million remains available
until expended.
Summary of FY 2006 LIHEAP Funds
We have also included a summary table to provide
specific information on the release of all FY 2006
funds. To avoid confusion, this table
distinguishes each of the block and contingency
releases, and the special conditions (if any) that
govern the obligation of these funds. For
reference, we also included the obligation rules
for leveraging funds in this table.
ATTACHMENTS: (1) Distribution of $79.96 million in LIHEAP
emergency contingency funds to States and
Indian tribes/tribal organizations, and the
formula for allocating these funds
(2) Summary Table of all FY 2006 LIHEAP Funds
Released to Grantees/Obligation Rules and
Special Restrictions
_______________/s_____________
Josephine B. Robinson
Director
Office of Community Services
