The Biden admin. announced on Wednesday, six days before the approaching midterm elections, that the federal govt. would assist qualifying low- and moderate-income households pay their electricity bills.
According to a White House news release, the administration would invest $4.5 billion through the Department of Human Services to “help decrease heating expenses for American families this winter.” The money will be used to settle past-due utility bills and to “assist households in making cost-effective home energy renovations to minimize their cooling and heating expenditures.”
Meanwhile, the admin. underlined $9 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funds that local and state governments can use to support energy upgrades for 1.6 million households, as well as different Department of Energy programs to lower power costs.
According to the Energy Information Administration’s most current winter fuels prediction, the average household primarily utilizing natural gas for space heating will pay $931 on power from October through March, a $206 increase from last year. Energy costs have been a major contributor to inflation hitting four-decade highs.
On Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to visit a union hall in Boston, Massachusetts, to highlight the new efforts. “President Biden’s economic strategy focuses on cutting energy costs for American families so that they can keep their homes warm during the winter and cool during the summer,” the White House said.
The Biden regime has also announced the withdrawal of significant portions of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in recent months, prompting critics to argue that officials are simply trying to lower energy prices ahead of the upcoming elections in order to boost the chances of their legislative supporters. According to AAA data, the national average cost of gasoline topped $5.00 per gallon this summer, despite the fact that rates at the pump are presently $3.77 per gallon, representing a 58% rise since the commander-in-chief took office at the beginning of the past year.
Midterm polling repeatedly demonstrates that the economy and the cost of living are more important to voters than any other topic. According to an ABC News/Washington Post poll, 84% of respondents rank the economy as their top concern, and Republicans outnumber Democrats by a 16-point margin in terms of trust in economic management.