As the region braves extremely cold temperatures, many are staying home and keeping warm, but heat energy can come at an extreme cost. A new federal bill aims to expand assistance to those who need it. New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is announcing the Heating And Cooling Relief Act Of 2022. "We have to make energy assistance available to families who need it," she said in a Thursday press conference. The bill would expand access and edibility to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, designed to help neighbors who meet an income requirement with heating and cooling expenses. "In our area, primarily it's the heating bills associated with winter," said Richard Holcomb, deputy commissioner at the Department of Social Services for Clinton County.DSS oversees the program in Clinton County, where Holcomb says about 10% of residents rely on the assistance. "It touches a large percentage of homes here in the Clinton County area," he said. Gillibrand said the bill would invest $40 billion a year into expanding access to LIHEAP."Unfortunately LIHEAP has been so severely underfunded, that it's only been able to reach approximately 16% of eligible households in recent years. As we face more extreme weather with colder winters and hotter summers, their support will be in greater demand," she said. The proposed bill also expands eligibility criteria, ensuring anyone who pays more than 3% of their income on average over a year on their energy bill will qualify. "That would make a huge difference for families who are currently spending 10% or more for what they spend on their energy bills," Gillibrand said. According to the senator's office, LIHEAP served more than 47,000 people in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis and Saint Lawrence counties last winter. As Sen. Gillibrand says temperatures continue to plummet as heating costs rise, half of U.S. households are projected to spend 30% more on heating this year than they did last winter. "Any program that could be expanded that would assist families that are living in a tight budget situation, I think would be tremendously helpful to the area," Holcomb said.The senator notes the new bill also includes new consumer protections, including ensuring no eligible household has its utilities shut off or is charged late fees, that every eligible household can have utility debt cleared, and that utility companies set up discounted payment plans.