Heat Assistance Available for Low-Income North Carolinians
Rep. Adams celebrates $100 million boost to North Carolina home heating through LIHEAP and new NOAA community heat monitoring plan

CHARLOTTE – Today, Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. (NC-12) celebrated two announcements from the Biden-Harris Administration related to heating assistance for low-income families this winter and for collecting data around extreme heat.
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Funding
Last week, North Carolina was awarded $97,518,180 in funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which is available to individuals and families.
“I’m thankful President Biden and HHS Secretary Becerra agree that no child should be forced to sleep in the cold," said Rep. Adams. “These investments in LIHEAP ensure that we can keep North Carolina families warm this winter, and protect them from cold spells in the future. This speaks to the importance of having representatives in government who care about the people they are elected to serve.”
LIHEAP can also be used to weatherize homes to make them more energy efficient, and during disasters and extreme weather to mitigate energy emergencies. The LIHEAP funding release totaled approximately $3.7 billion of federal funding from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Appropriations Act (IIJA).
Administered through the Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Community Services at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the LIHEAP funding will help individuals and families with low incomes pay their home heating costs this winter, and with cooling bills in the summer.
Center for Collaborative Heat Monitoring (CCHM)
Additionally, the Center for Collaborative Heat Monitoring (CCHM) has opened community applications through January 17, 2025 to monitor heating disparities nationwide. Funded through the Inflation Reduction Act, selected communities will receive $10,000 and technical support to collect heat distribution data through community-led campaigns.
“The Center for Collaborative Heat Monitoring supports essential research and data collection around extreme heat,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “It equips communities with the knowledge to make informed and equitable decisions about heat resilience, while engaging community members and community-based organizations throughout the process.”
CCHM is funded through the Inflation Reduction Act and will provide selected communities $10,000 and technical support to collect heat distribution data through community-led campaigns.
Congresswoman Adams has long been a champion for issues related to weather-related resilience and heat illness in the House of Representatives. Alongside Representatives Judy Chu (CA-28) and Raúl Grijalva (AZ-07), she introduced the Asuncion Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act (H.R. 4897), which would require the Department of Labor to promulgate a heat standard. She also supported the Department of Labor’s creation of a new heat standard.
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Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. represents North Carolina's 12th Congressional District (Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, Cabarrus County) and serves on the House Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on Education & the Workforce, where she serves as ranking member of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee.