Hochul blames congressional Republicans for delay in fuel assistance funding

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(The Center Square) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul wants Congress to release federal funding to support New York’s Home Energy Assistance Program, which has been delayed by the government shutdown.

Hochul blamed Republicans for the impasse, saying unless they approve a plan to reopen the government and release the HEAP funding, "hundreds of thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers are about to be left in the cold." 

"By refusing to open the government and delaying heating assistance funding, Republicans are once again willfully turning their backs on their constituents," the Democrat said in a statement. "Washington Republicans should try actually standing up for the people they represent for a change. They need to do their jobs, end this shutdown, and provide funding to help New Yorkers heat their homes." 

New York received more than $287 million in federal heating assistance, which helped pay for utilities or fuel deliveries during cold weather months, to over 1.5 million low-income households in New York last winter alone, Hochul said. 

Without a federal budget in place, or a continuing resolution to keep the government open, Hochul said, there is "no federal funding available to open the HEAP program for the coming winter season." 

"With HEAP funding delayed due to the GOP government shutdown, New York State will be unable to provide heating assistance until mid-November at the earliest," she said. 

To be sure, the Republican backed government funding bill has been held up for weeks by two of New York's top Democrats in Congress — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — who are seeking a laundry list of concessions, including an extension of the federal health insurance tax credits. 

Schumer and other Democratic New York senators have blocked 11 votes on the GOP's continuing resolution to fund the government. 

In a statement, Schumer reiterated his claim that Republicans are responsible for the shutdown, and said Trump "has long had his sights on killing this vital federal heating assistance program millions of New Yorkers rely on every winter." 

"Now, Trump would rather cruelly cut off seniors from heating their homes than negotiate a bipartisan deal to protect their healthcare and end this shutdown," Schumer said in a statement. "New York’s House Republicans need to stop making excuses for Trump’s ‘maximum pain’ shutdown, do their jobs, and start standing up for their constituents.”

Hochul's statement included criticism from other New York congressional Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, who called on GOP lawmakers to return to the capital to resolve the impasse. 

"New Yorkers shouldn’t have to choose between heating their homes and putting food on the table because of Donald Trump’s chaos," Nadler said. "House Republicans must finally return to Washington, D.C. and work to end this shutdown and restore the energy assistance families rely on to stay warm this winter."