This weekend, we’ll be losing an hour of daylight as clocks get turned back in the annual return to standard time.

Fall is fading like a match going cold, bringing earlier sunsets and longer, colder nights.

But this year, Nov. 1 is bringing something different.

Winter is coming, and the political dysfunction in Harrisburg and Washington is about to make the nights longer, more cold and hungrier.

Last week, the Department of Human Services announced that the 2025-2026 Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) funding will be suspended.

As the state’s budget crisis drags on and the federal government shutdown stretches into its fourth week, thousands of low-income households in area counties are stuck in a cruel sort of limbo.

LIHEAP funding will be delayed by at least a month and is scheduled to return Dec. 3.

The reason is simple: The state has not yet received its annual federal allocation. Usually, the state gets around $215 million annually for the program, cash it can’t replace from its own sources.

The program helps roughly 300,000 households statewide, and about 2,400 qualified for benefits last year in Carbon County.

LIHEAP channels payments to utility companies or fuel suppliers for those struggling to afford home heating.

With households that hover at or below 150% of federal poverty levels — and there are many locally — community action agencies are already reporting surges in requests for heating help.

All those inquiries are more than just statistics.

They’re elderly folks being forced to choose between medicine and warmth, or parents weighing whether to pay the power bill or keep food on the table.

For many of those same people, food is an issue, too.

The current budget battles have put SNAP in perhaps a more serious situation than LIHEAP.

Caseworkers are stretched thin, outreach is curtailed and counties can’t plan for supplemental programs.

In effect, federal and state government officials have left local communities holding a bag they can’t fill by themselves.

Nearly 2 million Pennsylvania residents are at risk of losing benefits for November.

Usually, the funds are disbursed in the first 10 days of the month according to the last digit of a recipient’s case number.

No payments can be issued, risking a crisis for families already living paycheck to paycheck.

Under normal circumstances, the powers-that-be in Harrisburg could shuffle some cash to soften the blow.

But the state doesn’t have a final budget, either.

The lines at local food banks are getting longer and the other limited resources available to those agencies can’t cover the gap that’s been widening in the last few weeks.

In effect, federal and state government officials have left local communities holding a bag they can’t fill by themselves.

At the center of all this is the finger-pointing and politics of men and women who’ve been put into office by the votes of the people who are directly affected by the crisis.

Pennsylvania’s Legislature has yet to finalize a budget more than 100 days into the fiscal year.

The deadlock between the Democratic-controlled House and the Republican-majority Senate has many voters questioning their Election Day decisions.

Partisan politics has turned these two vital programs into collateral damage.

The blame game spread south to Washington, where the Trump administration and Republican leaders in Congress have been accused by Democrats of using the shutdown as leverage for budget concessions. Republican leaders point to what they say are excessive spending proposals and delays in procedure by Democrats.

All the folks involved in the fray are getting paid pretty well as the stalemate continues.

But for the families standing in line at food banks or sitting in a cold home, who’s shouldering the blame is a lot less important than when their next meal or heating credit shows up.

Budgets at any level of government have some degree of morality. Their numbers hide the cost of governmental gridlock. They can’t put a price on the emotional and physical cost of the people they affect.

No matter what side people take, programs like LIHEAP and SNAP don’t reward dependency. For years, they’ve helped preserve dignity and health.

The posturing, whining and blame game in our state and nation’s capitals won’t bring any winners as a grandma huddles against the cold of her home or a single mom rations groceries.

The political negligence can be avoided simply by compromise and cooperation that needs to happen — and fast.

Lawmakers need to remember, too, that winter is coming.

ED SOCHA | tneditor@tnonline.com