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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Trump Budget Could Shut Door on Utility Assistance in Ohio

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Monday, April 3, 2017   

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio's Winter Crisis Program just wrapped up what may be its final season.

The program provides utility bill assistance to low-income and older Ohioans facing a disconnect notice.

It's part of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program – one of the many programs on the chopping block under President Donald Trump's budget proposal.

Nationally, LIHEAP would lose $3.4 billion, which Steve Creed, housing director for Community Action Commission of Fayette County, says would be devastating.

"This program would be done,” he stresses. “There is no other funding for this. Utility companies will work with the clients but only to a very small degree. If they get too far behind, they shut them off – that's it. They cannot get a reconnection unless they pay that past due."

LIHEAP programs serve approximately 400,000 Ohioans each year. Creed says without the assistance, many families would be forced to make difficult choices such as paying a utility bill or putting food on the table.

The president's budget defines LIHEAP as a lower impact program that has not demonstrated strong performance outcomes.

Hundreds of programs and agencies would be eliminated under Trump's budget in order to offset a $54 billion boost in military spending.

Creed says that includes Community Services Block Grants that help fund services for poor, rural Ohioans, including job training and senior nutrition.

"Community Action Agencies use CSBG to provide administrative costs to cover other programs that don't have administrative fees,” he points out. “So, if they do away with that, we may as well shut our doors. There will be very little funding left statewide for community action to be able to run."

Weatherization programs that keep homes energy-efficient and safe would also take a hit under the federal budget plan. Creed says not only do these programs help vulnerable Ohioans, they also support jobs.





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