What Happened?

If your state or tribe receives federal block grants for home energy bills, social services, or mental health programs, a new federal proposal would cut the paperwork and procedural rules your state must follow to use that money. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), the federal agency that oversees these grants, proposed the changes on Oct. 29, according to a Legis1 review of the Federal Register filing. ​

The proposal would revise the rules for four programs: the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) block grants.

ACF says the current rules "include outdated provisions and procedural requirements that no longer reflect statutory authority or agency practice."

Why Does it Matter to Me?

Two specific changes would affect how states spend federal money:

  • Home weatherization waivers: States can currently ask to raise the share of LIHEAP funds spent on weatherizing homes from 15 percent up to 25 percent. The proposal would remove extra agency-created hurdles beyond the basic legal standard.
  • Outdated rules removed: Several provisions being deleted are already inoperative, including a LIHEAP tribal procedure that applied only to fiscal year 1982 and a spending restriction Congress removed from law but never deleted from regulation.

ACF says the proposal would create no new paperwork burdens and no increased costs.

Both Sides, Now

ACF framed the proposal as a deregulatory action, assessed under an executive order requiring new regulatory costs to be offset by eliminating costs from prior regulations. It is an agency rulemaking, so ACF can finalize it without a congressional vote, though the public comment period gives anyone a chance to weigh in.

Opponents argue that removing the foster-home restriction and easing LIHEAP weatherization waiver criteria could weaken safeguards on how capped public funds are used, or allow spending outside the programs' intended purposes.

What Happens Next?

The public comment period closes Nov. 30, and written comments may be submitted through regulations.gov or emailed to [email protected] with Docket No. ACF-2026-0628 or RIN 0970-AD49 in the subject line.

As of Nov. 5, the Federal Register listed only two public comments received, with 25 days left in the comment period.

ACF must review all comments before it can finalize any changes, and no effective date has been set.

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