HORSLEY HEATING BILL MADE LAW BY LEVY

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Horsley Heating Bill Made Law By Levy

  Suffolk Executive Steve Levy Signs Middle Income Home Energy Assistance Program (MI-HEAP)

 

Sponsoring Legislators Wayne Horsley and Brian Beedenbender Say Safety Net Program will Provide 1,000 Families with Vital Assistance this Winter

 

Hauppauge, NY – Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy signed into law Wednesday a resolution that provides one-time home heating supplements for as many as 1,000 middle income families that don’t meet federal income requirements for heating aid this winter.

 

Levy was joined at the bill signing by Legislators Wayne Horsley and Brian Beedenbender – who sponsored the bill to create MI-HEAP (Middle Income Home Energy Assistance Program).

 

“Just as the season is beginning to turn, more and more Long Islanders are worrying about how cold this winter will be and if they will be able to heat their homes all winter long,” said Levy. “I was pleased to work with Legislators Horsley and Beedenbender to present an emergency measure last week for consideration before the Legislature to pass this measure in time to provide real relief for Suffolk families.”

 

“On Long Island many people are too poor to be rich, and too rich to be poor,” said Legislator Horsley. “It’s a terrible Catch-22 that often leaves the hardest working residents in the county out in the cold.  MI-HEAP is geared just for these residents who get up and go to work every day, but are being financially assaulted by fat-cat analysts on Wall Street that have inflated the price of oil. MI-HEAP will offer those families that are hanging on by a thread much needed assistance so this winter no one has to make the choice between buying food or medication and keeping the heat on.”

 

Legislator Beedenbender added, “Through no fault of their own, people who have worked hard their whole lives, and people working hard now, are going to struggle to keep the heat on this winter because of the outrageous price of heating fuels. It is our moral responsibility to assure that Suffolk County residents have heat in the winter months.”

 

The MI-HEAP resolution establishes eligibility criteria which allow families to be at 35% above the federal income standards for its HEAP program:

 

Persons in Family or Household	HEAP GUIDELINE	SUFFOLK’S MIHEAP GUIDELINE
1	$23,556	$31,801
2	$30,804	$41,585
3	$38,064	$51,386
4	$45,312	$61,171
5	$52,560	$70,956
6	$59,808	$80,741
7	$61,164	$82,571

 

 

Suffolk’s program will be administered by the Department of Social Services, and mail-in applications may be obtained after November 3 by calling 631-854-2368.

 

 

 

 

Heating Assistance. Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy signed a resolution Wednesday providing $500,000 in home heating assistance to Suffolk families who are just over the income eligibility requirements for receiving federal aid. The program, MI-HEAP (Middle Income Home Energy Assistance Program) was sponsored by County Legislators Wayne Horsley (left) and Brian Beedenbender (right).

 

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