Currently the law directs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to set aside not less than one-tenth and not more than one-half of 1 percent of LIHEAP funds to be divided among all the territories: American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
“That doesn’t go very far,” Sablan said. “A low-income family of 11 people in the NMI only gets $58 a month to help with their CUC bill. Yet we know electricity costs in the NMI are substantially higher than costs elsewhere in the United States. To fix this inequity my bill redirects Leveraging Incentive Grants to LIHEAP in the insular areas.”
Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi of Puerto Rico, Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo of Guam, Congresswoman Donna Christensen of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Congressman Eni Faleomavaega of American Samoa joined Sablan in introducing the bill.
