New England Senators Push for More LIHEAP Funding
WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 – A bipartisan delegation of New England senators encouraged officials to increase the amount of money to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program in a letter to the Bush Administration Wednesday.
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who has been championing the issue in recent weeks, was joined by Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) in requesting another $3.1 billion.
While up to $5.1 billion can be spent on the program, which helps heat low-income households, the administration had requested only $2.183 billion for this fiscal year.for the program. The additional money would bring the funding to its fully authorized level.
Last week Kerry introduced an amendment to the Department of Defense spending bill that would have added the remaining funds. Although supported by 50 senators the amendment was blocked on a procedural vote.
“We can’t let another cold New England winter leave low income families and seniors shivering in their homes because Washington failed to act,” Kerry said in a released statement. “Congress must act now, and the Administration needs to join us.”
A national survey of last year’s recipients, done by the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association, found that 49 percent of the households had at least one resident 60 years of age or older. Sixty-one percent of those surveyed reported their annual income to be at or below the poverty level.
The senators’ letter, sent to the Department of Health and Human Services, which administers the program, noted that the Energy Information Administration predicted Wednesday that in last year in October, heating oil in New England hit 193.1 cents per gallon. This past week, heating oil in Massachusetts was 251.4 cents per gallon.
Last winter, the average household expenditure on natural gas in the Northeast was $1,029. This winter that number is expected to rise more than $300.
The Energy Information Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Energy, also reported that U.S. households using heating oil, the most popular heating fuel in Massachusetts, are projected to pay 32 percent more on fuel this winter, whereas those using natural gas are expected to pay 48 percent more.
Costs will depend on the winter weather, which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said will be colder than last year.
“The forecast for a cold winter and high fuel costs means that the elderly, the disabled, and many others will be forced to make a painful choice between heating their homes and paying for food, healthcare, and rent,” Kennedy said in a released statement.
Estella Fritzinger, executive director of the Community Action Committee of Cape Cod and the Islands, said funding for the program, which is also known as LIHEAP, is a serious issue, especially because of the high cost of living on the Cape.
“If there’s not a raise done on the LIHEAP dollars we are literally going to be in a situation where someone is going to die in their home this winter,” she said. “The government needs to release the monies now.”
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