The government shutdown is delaying funding for a federal heating assistance program that helps thousands of low-income Alaska families to offset their heating costs and weatherize homes for winter, state health officials said Thursday.
The Alaska Department of Health said in a statement that the government shutdown has delayed the release of money for the federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program for the year of 2026. The program subsidizes energy bills for about 50,000 Alaskans, many of whom live in rural and tribal communities.
"It definitely benefits a lot of rural and tribal communities," said Jennifer Hyde, a federal infrastructure coordinator at the Alaska Center, a nonprofit that advocates for the continuation of the program. "Disproportionately, those communities are often low income or have different economic struggles."
The shutdown began on Oct. 1. Funding for the heating assistance program usually comes in on Nov. 1.
State health officials said they expect that money to run out by mid-November. For now, they are operating the program using the remaining money from the previous year.
The department said it usually takes four-to-six weeks for the heating assistance funds to be released to states. So if Congress acts in late November, Alaska would receive funding after mid-December, according to the state health department.
Alaska tribal organizations are looking closely at the issue.
The Tanana Chiefs Conference administers heating assistance for over 1,200 households. Amber Vaska, the executive director of tribal government and client services at the organization, said by email that the federal program is "a lifeline across the Interior."
"In our remote Interior villages, this support means the difference between families keeping their homes heated and pipes from freezing—or being forced to go without heat entirely, " Vaska said.
Vaska added that Tanana Chiefs Conference can use carryover funds from prior years, which allows the organization to continue serving residents even during funding interruptions or government shutdowns.
The government shutdown is also affecting other programs crucial for Alaska Native communities, like food assistance and tribal Head Start.
Hyde, with the Alaska Center, said families who rely on heating assistance are the same vulnerable residents who will be affected by the loss of food benefits.
"It's going to just be a really tough winter, unless something can give," she said.
In the meantime, the state Department of Health said its staff is prioritizing applications by focusing on households in a heating emergency or at immediate risk of losing heat. It's also processing regular applications in the order they were received.
If the federal money runs out, the department said it plans to continue processing new applications, though payments will be delayed until the new funds arrive.
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