Wheel’s meals, which deliver meals to seniors in their hometown, is now one of the seniors’ programs, as federal agencies fired staff who manage them.
Amy Sansetta/AP
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Amy Sansetta/AP
Department of Health and Human Services layoffs have cut staff in major federal anti-aging, disability and poverty programs, making the future of these programs uncertain.
At least 40% of staff were notified of layoffs, and many were kicked out at front doors on Tuesday. That said, Alison Berkoff, former director of the agency under the Biden administration, said she spoke to several members of her former staff member.
The agency runs a senior center and funds a program that distributes older meals to people with disabilities during meals.
“The programs implemented by ACL will literally improve the lives of tens of millions of elderly people, disabled people, their families and caregivers,” says Berkoff, director of the Health Law Program at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University. “There’s no way to have these RIFs and it doesn’t affect the programs or the people who rely on them.”
last week, announcement Of the upcoming layoffs at HHS, he said ACL’s responsibility will go to various parts of HHS.
However, Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s guide to rebuilding the government, suggested that ACLs work on special education services after the Ministry of Education was demolished. It is not clear where the work will be carried out now.
Additionally, all staff members were fired from the Energy Assistance Department, according to two employees Andrew Germain and Vikki Pretlow, who lost their jobs on Tuesday. The office operates a low-income home energy assistance program; Or liheap, This will help 5.9 million low-income households pay their heat and cooling bills and pay for home repairs to increase energy efficiency.
Staff said layoffs of around 20 workers came as a surprise and expressed concern about whether the program would continue as funds run out at the end of September and poor people face rising heating costs in the fall and winter.
Liheap offers “lifesaving services,” says Germain. One way funds are used is to help low-income people pay their electricity bills when they rely on oxygen or other medical devices or when they need to keep their refrigerator running to store insulin or other medications.
Germain performed compliance monitoring to ensure that the state uses Liheap’s money correctly. He said fraud is rare. However, Liheap was scrutinized by Project 2025. It focused on a “loophole” that was revised by Congress more than a decade ago in 2014. This has provided around ten states with minimal energy support and then qualified the poor for larger snaps or food stamp payments.
Congress allocated $4.1 billion to Liheap in 2024. It is unclear how Germain will continue after the current budget ends in September without federal staff running the program.
Pretow, who lost his job as a program specialist at Liheap Office, said:
