Thousands of workers at the Department of Health and Human Services suddenly found themselves unemployed this week.

The layoffs reportedly include about 20 employees who oversaw a program that helps low-income Americans pay their energy bills: the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP. It provides money to states, territories and tribes so they can help families keep their homes warm or cool.

Congress appropriated about $4 billion for LIHEAP this fiscal year.

Every state, tribe and territory gets a set amount, said Mark Wolfe, head of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, or NEADA.

How much depends on several factors, including climate.

“A state that’s extremely cold will receive more money than, say, a state that’s more moderate in its temperature,” Wolfe said. “Same thing with a state that becomes extremely hot.”

In many states, people who qualify for LIHEAP apply for assistance through local nonprofits. 

“And then we request money from the state, and the state issues payment to us, and we, in turn, make those payments to utility vendors primarily,” said Jean Logan, executive director of the Community Action Agency of Siouxland in Sioux City, Iowa. 

LIHEAP recipients end up with a credit that offsets part or all of the utility bill for heating or cooling their home. Logan said it can be a financial lifeline.

“It makes the difference between whether or not people have their medicines and they fall behind on their other bills, whether or not they even eat,” she said. 

So a lot of the day-to-day work of LIHEAP happens at the state and local levels. But federal administrators play a crucial role, said Mark Wolfe at NEADA.

“There is no way to allocate the funds without the federal staff, there’s no way to oversee the program.”

Wolfe said nearly $400 million appropriated by Congress for this year has not yet been distributed.

The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to a request for comment.

In Minnesota, Lissa Pawlisch at the state’s Division of Energy Resources said if those funds aren’t released, “in very real terms, this means that potentially, thousands of households won’t be able to get the energy assistance that they need to pay their energy bills.”

It’s still winter heating season in Minnesota. Temperatures in the Twin Cities on Wednesday were in the 30s.