ICYMI: A Texas Social Worker Chooses Between Health Care and Utility Bills

Washington, DC – Americans have seen their utility costs rise by 11% under Donald Trump’s watch – and instead of putting more energy on the grid to lower costs, he’s taken a sledgehammer to clean energy. Scripp’s News featured the story of Samantha Lott, a social worker in Texas, who is working overtime just to keep the heating on as the winter months approach. 

At the same time, the federal Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) has been thrown into crisis after Trump fired the entire staff. In his May budget, he even proposed eliminating the program, threatening to leave 6 million households in the cold. Donald Trump is putting families in danger while Americans face an affordability crisis caused by his own reckless policies. 

Samantha Lott: “It’s been a struggle. Recently last year I got diagnosed with a health condition, and with that comes a lot of pain and days that I just don’t feel good. But because of the rising costs, I have to go out and deliver groceries anyway just to make ends meet. Or even sacrifices like ‘do I pay this really high electric bill this month or face homelessness, or do I delay going to the doctor for specific medical things and push it back a month to pay day.’”