What Made Beethoven Sick? DNA From His Hair Offers Clues
White House Allocates Funds for Poor to Pay Heating Bills
January 7, 2022
by Tom Ramstack
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced details Friday for how it will fund energy costs for low-income persons this winter as a cold wave swept over the nation.
A White House statement described increased funding under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program as another victory for the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that President Joe Biden signed into law last March.
Before Congress narrowly approved it along party lines, Republicans cited the plan as being too expensive and an example of government spending that provides little return on investment.
White House press spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre defended the plan during a press briefing Friday when she said, “We’ve seen how the economy has bounced back.”
Last year, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program more than doubled spending for home heating to $8 billion. About $4.5 billion is coming from the American Rescue Plan.
The funding is the largest single-year appropriation for home energy expenses since the program was established in 1981, Jean-Pierre said.
“These resources are already allowing states across the country to provide more home energy relief to low income Americans than ever before,” a White House statement said.
A state-by-state breakdown shows that most of the money will go to cold weather states.
Minnesota will get $274 million in supplemental funds for low-income residents. New York will get $876 million.
By comparison, Texas — which has a population with 9 million more residents than New York — will get only an additional $10 million for home heating.
Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration won agreements Friday from seven major utilities to avoid shutting off the heat or electricity for customers seeking federal or state aid. The utilities also agreed to identify customers who need government assistance and to notify them if they are eligible.
The seven utilities who made the new commitments join seven others that reached the same agreement with the federal government in November.
Tom can be reached at tom@thewellnews.com
In The News
Health
Voting
In The News
March 22, 2023
by What Made Beethoven Sick? DNA From His Hair Offers Clues
What Made Beethoven Sick? DNA From His Hair Offers Clues
NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly 200 years after Ludwig van Beethoven's death, researchers pulled DNA from strands of his hair,... Read More
NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly 200 years after Ludwig van Beethoven's death, researchers pulled DNA from strands of his hair, searching for clues about the health problems and hearing loss that plagued him. They weren't able to crack the case of the German composer's deafness or... Read More
Behind Massive Seaweed Belt Headed for Some Atlantic Beaches
WASHINGTON (AP) — A 5,000-mile seaweed belt lurking in the Atlantic Ocean is expected in the next few months to... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — A 5,000-mile seaweed belt lurking in the Atlantic Ocean is expected in the next few months to wash onto beaches in the Caribbean Sea, South Florida, and the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt — as the biomass stretching from... Read More
March 21, 2023
by Tom Ramstack
Reformers Seek to Block DC Law Allowing Noncitizen Voters
WASHINGTON — A group of Washington, D.C., voters is suing to overturn a new local law giving noncitizen residents a... Read More
WASHINGTON — A group of Washington, D.C., voters is suing to overturn a new local law giving noncitizen residents a right to vote. They say the law infringes on American citizens’ right to self-government and dilutes the value of their votes. “It follows from our national... Read More
March 21, 2023
by Superbug Fungus Cases Rose Dramatically During Pandemic
Superbug Fungus Cases Rose Dramatically During Pandemic
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. cases of a dangerous fungus tripled over just three years, and more than half of... Read More
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. cases of a dangerous fungus tripled over just three years, and more than half of states have now reported it, according to a new study. The COVID-19 pandemic likely drove part of the increase, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control... Read More
March 21, 2023
by Dan McCue
Biden Designates Two National Monuments in Southwest
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday will designate two new national monuments ahead of remarks at the White House... Read More
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday will designate two new national monuments ahead of remarks at the White House Conservation in Action Summit being held at the headquarters of the U.S. Interior Department. In southern Nevada, Biden will bestow federal protection on about a half... Read More
March 21, 2023
by Kate Michael
Report Says Female Entrepreneurs in Middle East Could Boost Economy
WASHINGTON — Given increased economic stress around the world, the official release of a new report by the Wilson Center’s... Read More
WASHINGTON — Given increased economic stress around the world, the official release of a new report by the Wilson Center’s Middle East Program on female entrepreneurship in the MENA region may be that much more relevant. The Middle East and North Africa region has one of... Read More
News From The Well
