Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Representative Paul Tonko Announce Home Heating and Energy Efficiency Assistance to Help New Yorkers Lower Heating Costs This Winter

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that funding is available to help low- and middle-income households and older adults lower their energy costs and keep their homes warm during cold winter months. Applications for the Home Energy Assistance Program, or HEAP, which can provide up to $996 to eligible households, are currently open to New Yorkers. More than 1.7 million HEAP benefits were issued last winter, putting more than $397 million back in the pockets of families across the state.

VIDEO: The event is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

AUDIO: The Governor's remarks are available in audio form here.

PHOTOS: The Governor's Flickr page has photos of the event here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

 Good morning. Thank you, thank you. Every day, New Yorkers are getting slammed with the high cost of everything. Over the last five years, groceries have shot up 23 percent, housing prices have jumped 17 percent and - in parts of our state, including New York City - utility prices have more than doubled.

For families all across New York, this isn't a conversation about statistics, it's about something they live with every single day - the struggles, the challenges. And trust me, I hear you, I get it. But, I'm not just listening, I'm taking action. So, today we're here to offer some basic relief to individuals and families by helping them weather the winter with true winter essentials, dealing with their heating bills.

And, I want to thank a number of individuals who are here today to help make this happen. We have Commissioner Barbara Guinn, the Office of Temporary Disability Services. Barbara, thank you for all you do to make sure programs like this get out there to our citizens.

Acting Director for the Office of Aging, Greg Olson. Thank you for making the connections with our seniors so they know what's available to them. Laurie Wheelock, the Executive Director and Counsel of the Public Utility Law Project. Thank you, Laurie. We'll be hearing from Laurie in a couple minutes.

And, Venetta Davis, one of our recipients and Albany residents and, like me, a grandma. So, great to see you, Venetta. And, County Executive Dan McCoy, who helps administrate this program is here as well.

So - as you all know, you've heard me say it a thousand times - making our state more affordable has been one of my top priorities since becoming governor. I fought to raise the minimum wage and tie it to inflation, which at the time didn't sound like a big deal, except it was. We doubled tuition assistance for students attending SUNY schools and making sure TAP was available for part time students for the very first time. As governor, I accelerated the middle class tax cuts. We expanded the Empire Tax Credit for children and families - over one million families could get $330 per child.

I talk about how I went shopping with families, and the end of summer to going back to school and this money was so essential for them. They were so grateful that the state had a program to help them deal with the everyday cost of living. We had a summer food assistance program so families could get $120 per child while school is out, because for so many children, their best meals are going to be what the school provides for breakfast and lunch.

And then we provided for, particularly for our seniors, $2.3 billion in tax relief through our STAR program. And for working moms and dads, we secured $7 billion to help alleviate the high cost of childcare - making our estate more affordable - and eligible families earning less than $108,000 can pay as little as $15 a week for child care.

So, we've started with these programs - all announced over the past few months. Understanding the stress that everyday New Yorkers are under, this is not a news flash to us. We don't need to see a poll to tell us this is something that New Yorkers have been struggling with for a long time and they're looking for help. So, we're not resting on our laurels with these programs. I'm always looking for more ways to ease the burden on hardworking people across our state.

Let's talk about something that's a major driver of costs for our families: utilities. Significant monthly expense, especially when it gets cold and the thermostat has to go up. We've all been there, walking around the house. This reminds me of my childhood. A lot of kids. My parents saying, "Turn out the lights in the room. Don't be wasting electricity. Don't use so much water. Did you have to take such a long bath? Your brothers and sisters are all waiting for the same bathtub." I'm going to tell you it was not the best experience.

But also just keeping the thermostat down. Walking around Buffalo with heavy sweaters on so my parents' heating bill didn't go off the charts. That is still the existence for New Yorkers today. And to have a young child in the wintertime when it's cold out, babies need to be kept warm. I understand this.

And, so, you have to turn it up when it's cold, but so many people have to turn it down because they're worried about the costs. And for lower income New Yorkers, energy costs can range between 10 and 20 percent of their entire household income. Think about that. Right off the top, you're working hard, you're also getting supplemental assistance because of a disability.

20 percent is out the window just to keep the house from being freezing? We're doing something about that today. The Home Energy Assistance Program, known as HEAP, is accepting applications. I want everybody to know that. It is a first come, first served program. Qualifying households can receive up to $1,000 in benefits to help pay for their heating bills this winter.

Now, for a family of four with $76,000 in income, that's a significant benefit. Just even a year ago, it was only 70,000, so we're continuing to raise the income threshold from 70,000 to 76,000 and keep pushing it upward. And last year, with our federal partners in Washington who delivered for us, we distributed nearly $400 million to families across New York, helping 1.5 million New Yorkers lower their heating costs. And one of those individuals is with us here today, Albany's own Venetta Davis, who you'll hear from in a few minutes, and we had a great conversation. She told us for the last decade HEAP has helped her keep the heat on while she cares for two grandchildren.

And, it's hard living on fixed income, and the cost of everything going up, and a seven-year-old and a twelve-year-old. She's taking care of, she is the primary provider for these children - and, becoming a parent all over again, but taking care of them with a lot of love, but also a lot of expenses. And, she'll talk to you about what this program has meant to her, and she told me this program was literally a lifesaver. And, I want to make sure that every single New Yorker who needs our help knows to apply now and has access to the same lifesaving support. Whether your home is heated by natural gas, oil, electric or any fuel, HEAP can help offset the cost.

And the good news is when the program doesn't just pay for utility bills, it can be used to offset the cost of fixing or even completely replacing a busted heating unit, which could be debilitating for a family. Qualified homeowners can receive a benefit of up to $4,000 for an existing unit and for a complete replacement, $8,000 is available for you.

So we hope to offer a helping hand to everybody who needs it, but, as I said, this is a first come, first served program under federal guidelines, and I want people to apply now so you're literally not left out in the cold, because you don't have to just be from Buffalo to understand how bitter cold it can be in the wintertime, and I want more people to go to our website ny.gov/heat for more information on how to apply.

So, even if it seems like it's a mild winter, we have a lot of challenges. You just never know what Mother Nature is going to bring, as I'm heading shortly to look at the damage caused by raging wildfires in the fall - normally a wet season for us.

So, you can see what is happening with climate change. It's bitter cold across the state, or else droughts. We are experiencing extremes like you never could have imagined - but we don't know how long this respite from the weather will continue, so we have to recognize there will come a day when that thermostat is going to be turned up high. And, as much as I'd love to have 75 degree temperature in January, I'm not going to keep dreaming and hoping for that. We're going to keep providing programs like this, and hopefully New Yorkers will get some relief.

January 2, applications are open for emergency benefits, and anybody who risks having their utilities turned off or running out of fuel, there is help for you as well, and you can apply for up to two emergency benefits this winter.

And I do want to take a moment to thank our partners in Washington, as I mentioned a couple of times. The Biden-Harris administration has been extraordinary in ensuring that programs like that are out there for people. When you think about the high cost of living states, it's because we have weather that requires our citizens to keep the temperature on higher, longer throughout the year because of our positioning in the Northeast.

And I want to thank Kirsten Gillibrand, Chuck Schumer - our Senators. And Congressman Paul Tonko, who couldn't be here today, but was very helpful to this. They wanted to be here, they have business in Washington which is always important.

I want to make sure that everyone takes advantage of this, and do your part. I'm going to send a message to Washington, this is a top priority for New York State. Don't take it from me, take it from Venetta Davis, who you'll be hearing from in a couple moments.

And making New York more affordable is not just a policy priority for me, it's a personal mission. Every program we launch, every benefit we expand, every initiative we undertake - is based on making New York a better place to live, and making life a little bit easier. That's what this program is all about.

So we hope that you'll spread this around, let people know, because it's an important program. And I want to thank everybody participating in this.

You'll also be hearing from Laurie Wheelock, who's the Executive Director, will talk about how important this is for all of us. So now I'd like to introduce her and thank her for all the great work she does at the Public Utility Law Project of New York.

And again, these programs are essential for New Yorkers. Let's keep them going. Washington D.C., we will continue to need your support to fund the HEAP program - and even increase it as the cost of living continues to escalate for everyday New Yorkers. Thank you very much.