Additional LIHEAP Funding in Demand
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 — As relief efforts in the Gulf Coast region continue, both of New Hampshire’s representatives are asking for additional money for the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program to respond to the increased home heating costs Americans will face this winter because of Hurricane Katrina.
The program is intended to help low-income, elderly and disabled households pay their home energy costs.
New Hampshire Rep. Charles Bass wrote a letter, co-signed by 57 of his colleagues, asking President George W. Bush for $900 million in additional money for the program, called LIHEAP for short, in the next Hurricane Katrina emergency relief package.
“We can expect to face the most expensive winter in heating history,” the legislators wrote. “We have a responsibility to address the wider ramifications of this natural disaster and avert another crisis down the road by providing additional LIHEAP emergency funds.”
New Hampshire Rep. Jeb Bradley also signed the request.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the price for home heating oil could increase by 31 percent in the Northeast this winter. The agency also projects that household spending could increase by up to 71 percent for natural gas, up to 17 percent for electricity and up to 40 percent for propane.
“Even prior to Katrina, our nation was feeling the squeeze of record-high energy prices,” the legislators wrote. “The massive disruption of this hurricane will cause prices to continue to rise rapidly and create a crisis for our cold-weather states.”
Bass said the additional $900 million is necessary for the program to maintain the same purchasing power it had in 2004 in the face of the rise in home heating costs.
Bradley also signed a letter addressed to two House and Senate Appropriations subcommittees Wednesday, asking them to increase the program’s funds to $4 billion for the fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1 when members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees meet to resolve differences in the spending bills passed by the House and pending in the Senate.
Currently, the House bill allots $2 billion for the program, while the Senate has not yet acted on their spending bill
Despite his request that Bush add $900 million for the program in the next Katrina emergency relief package, Bass does not believe that doubling the appropriation to $4 billion is necessary, he said, adding that his proposal was based on empirical evidence, not “just a roll of the dice.”
“The program has continued and grown, and I think legitimately so,” Bass said in a telephone interview Wednesday, adding that low-income energy relief is a “significant” service for New Hampshire residents.
Bass said Americans will be best served if additional funds for the program are approved now, rather than waiting until a crisis actually arises.
“I don’t want to have to deal with that in the middle of January, I would rather have the issue out on the table now in September” he said. “If [the money] isn’t spent, it isn’t spent, but it’s there.”
During the 2004-05 program year, 30,146 New Hampshire families received low-income energy aid, according to the state’s Office of Energy and Planning. During the same period, the agency released $17.3 million in federal energy assistance funds to New Hampshire residents.
“This year, more than ever, LIHEAP is critical for the Northeast,” Bradley said. “The situation has become more problematic for people in the Northeast with the continuing escalation of the price of home heating oil.”
New Hampshire Senator John Sununu also expressed concern in a press release Thursday about maintaining adequate energy aid for New Hampshire residents.
” Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funds are valuable resources that help individuals and families in New Hampshire and other states have access to heating money when they need it the most,” said Sununu, an advocate of this program since he served in the House. “In the upcoming fall and winter months, they can be assured that I will work on their behalf to see that money is there for them again this year.”
Added New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg: “These higher prices will represent a significant hardship to many people in New Hampshire as the temperature continues to fall through winter. The LIHEAP program, which provides significant assistance to those in our state who need it most such as the elderly and disadvantaged, will likely be tested as it tries to address the increasing need for heating oil assistance.” Gregg said he expects the approval of additional energy assistance funds in the upcoming weeks.
