Newswire - Massachusetts receiving emergency heating aid for low-income households

By Brittany Lawonn

WASHINGTON, March 3 - Additional money to help poor people meet their rising heating bills is flowing into the Bay State and more is being requested by the state's Senate delegation after harsh winter weather pummeled the area with record-setting snowfalls and energy costs nationwide on the rise.

Nationwide, more than $1.6 billion has been distributed to the states since fiscal year 2005 began in October through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), with an additional $250 million in emergency aid released since December.

LIHEAP helps eligible households meet home energy costs - either heating or cooling - based on standards set by the state for household size and income.

Massachusetts has received about $14 million in federal emergency aid since December, most recently receiving $2.8 million Tuesday.

Gov. Mitt Romney allocated $7.4 million in state aid last Friday, which is "very uncommon" for a state to do, said Phil Hailer, the communications director at the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development.

Massachusetts received about $80.39 million for LIHEAP last year and has received "close to $97 million" so far this year, including three rounds of emergency allocations, Hailer said.

A bipartisan group of 39 senators, including Sens. Edward Kennedy and John Kerry, asked the Senate Budget Committee in a letter Tuesday to designate $3 billion to LIHEAP for the 2006 fiscal year, roughly a 50 percent increase over what President Bush is seeking.

The senators asked Senate Budget Committee chairman Sen. Judd Gregg, R-NH for a $1 billion increase in President George W. Bush's $2 billion LIHEAP budget proposal. The letter says the program "provides a vital safety net for our nation's low-income households" that are often faced with "the impossible choice between paying their home energy bills or affording other basic necessities."

South Shore residents who are eligible for LIHEAP can receive assistance through the South Shore Community Action Council Inc. (SSCAC) in Plymouth and Hyannis or through the Housing Assistance Corporation (HAC) in Hyannis.

SSCAC covers 39 towns, from Hull to Wareham and including the Cape islands, said Lisa Spencer, the agency's energy program director.

Spencer said the agency provided fuel assistance to 8,149 households during the winter of 2003-04, serving 16,656 individuals and spending more than $3.75 million in federal funds. The average annual income of these households was $14,633.

The agency has received 9,032 applications since Nov.1 and has $4.8 million available, which does not include the additional state funds or Tuesday's federal emergency allocation.

The additional money could be used to increase the maximum available for households, which now ranges from $445 to$655 per household, depending on income, she said.

This year, HAC can serve 99 people with the $224,522 available for its weatherization program, which provides thermal updates to properties such as adding insulation, said Michael Berry, HAC's energy director. Clients are eligible for up to $4,600 in service and are ranked according to income. For example, a family of four cannot make more than $37,700 to be eligible.

The agency has an additional $141,000 to use for heating systems, such as making repairs and replacements. Berry said HAC does an average of 200 to 300 repairs and 40 replacements each year.

"Right now being in the dead of winter all we are doing is we're doing heating systems that have died beyond repair," he said, adding that "we don't help them pay their bills; we help them conserve and make their house warmer and safer."

He said HAC is serving more households than it has in the past and is trying to "make the money stretch out longer."

Berry said that work on the islands is more expensive than on the mainland and that the organization could use additional funds each year, although weather is also always a factor.

Sen. Gregg did not specifically comment on the letter requesting more LIHEAP funding, instead saying in a statement Wednesday "it would be premature for me to say what specifics may or may not be in the Senate product." The committee, he added, is expected to vote next week of the budget proposal.

Hailer said that he did not have "the slightest idea on how it would break out" for Massachusetts if total spending on the program increased to $3 billion, but that "it would obviously mean more money for Massachusetts, I would guess, but I have no idea on the details."

Bush proposed $2 billion for next year, or $182 million less than this year, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. That sum includes $200 million that would be set aside for the program's emergency contingency fund, $97 million less than was made available for this year.

The emergency fund is made available "because some winters are worse than others," according to the LIHEAP Web site.

Kennedy applauded Tuesday's release of emergency funds, saying in a statement it "will help needy families in Massachusetts., especially as Massachusetts faces such a severe winter."

Kerry said the additional money could be used to "alleviate the burden" of heating costs to families who need it most.

"Massachusetts continues to be hit by powerful storms this season, but that does not mean people should live in continual financial crisis to get through the winter," he said in a statement Thursday.

According to Bush's budget proposal, LIHEAP assists about 4.5 million households each year, and "of the households receiving heating assistance, about one-third include a member 60 years or older, about half include a person with a disability, half include a child under age 18 and about one-third do not receive any other public assistance."

Bush's LIHEAP budget proposal would allocate $74.29 million to Massachusetts next year, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association. That does not include additional emergency funds.

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