42 USC 8621 – Home energy grants
(a) Authorization
The Secretary is authorized to make grants, in accordance with the provisions of this subchapter, to States to assist low-income households, particularly those with the lowest incomes, that pay a high proportion of household income for home energy, primarily in meeting their immediate home energy needs.
(b) Authorization of appropriations
Terms Used In 42 USC 8621
- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- Balanced budget: A budget in which receipts equal outlays.
- emergency: means &mdash. See 42 USC 8622
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- home energy: means a source of heating or cooling in residential dwellings. See 42 USC 8622
- household: means any individual or group of individuals who are living together as one economic unit for whom residential energy is customarily purchased in common or who make undesignated payments for energy in the form of rent. See 42 USC 8622
- natural disaster: means a weather event (relating to cold or hot weather), flood, earthquake, tornado, hurricane, or ice storm, or an event meeting such other criteria as the Secretary, in the discretion of the Secretary, may determine to be appropriate. See 42 USC 8622
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Secretary: means the Secretary of Health and Human Services. See 42 USC 8622
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the provisions of this subchapter (other than section 8626a of this title), $2,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1995 through 1999, such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2000 and 2001, and $5,100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2007. The authorizations of appropriations contained in this subsection are subject to the program year provisions of subsection (c).
(c) Availability of appropriations
Amounts appropriated under this section for any fiscal year for programs and activities under this subchapter shall be made available for obligation in the succeeding fiscal year.
(d) Authorization of appropriations for leveraged resources
(1) There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 8626a of this title, $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1999 through 2004, except as provided in paragraph (2).
(2) For any of fiscal years 1999 through 2004 for which the amount appropriated under subsection (b) is not less than $1,400,000,000, there is authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 to carry out section 8626a of this title.
(e) Emergency funds
There is authorized to be appropriated in each fiscal year for payments under this subchapter, in addition to amounts appropriated for distribution to all the States in accordance with section 8623 of this title (other than subsection (e) of such section), $600,000,000 to meet the additional home energy assistance needs of one or more States arising from a natural disaster or other emergency. Funds appropriated pursuant to this subsection are hereby designated to be emergency requirements pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(D) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 [2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(D)], except that such funds shall be made available only after the submission to Congress of a formal budget request by the President (for all or a part of the appropriation pursuant to this subsection) that includes a designation of the amount requested as an emergency requirement as defined in such Act [2 U.S.C. 900 et seq.].