LIHEAP as a Textbook Case of Government Befuddlement

The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program federal block grant program has been a focus of contention since its inception in 1981 over the manner in which funds are allocated to the states. A 1984 revision to the original funding formula that sought to correct an overallocation of funds to cold-weather states has been so constrained as to be ineffective. The means of distributing LIHEAP funds to states needs to be revised.