"This is a victory for the millions of Americans who rely on LIHEAP to survive the winter. The Senate made it clear that it believes this funding is absolutely essential and that American families need assistance now," Reed said. "I only regret that it took the President so long to understand the crisis that face so many people and the importance of this program, but I am glad he finally followed the lead of the Senate."
"For many low income families, it''s not just the cold outside, it''s the cold inside. No family should have to see a glass of water by the bed frozen over by morning, or family members still cold no matter how many blankets are on the bed. When it''s 19 degrees below zero outside and you don''t have enough money to heat your home, that is an emergency. These funds will help hundreds of thousands of low income families stay warm this winter," Collins said.
On Tuesday, the Senate approved, by a vote of 88 to 4, an amendment by U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Susan Collins (R-ME) to provide $2 billion in funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) that helps millions of Americans pay their heating bills. The amendment increased the funding for LIHEAP by taking back $300 million in discretionary emergency LIHEAP funding that Congress approved in July 2001 and the Bush Administration refused to spend. Because the bill has yet to be signed by the President, he still has the authority to immediately release the $300 million in emergency funding to help states deal with the increased demand from families needing help in paying their heating bills right away.
Reed and Collins wrote the President yesterday following the overwhelming support for the funding from the Senate. The Senators wrote, "Colder winter temperatures, rising energy prices, and the slow economy are creating the "Perfect Storm". Families from Maine to Florida to Washington are struggling to meet their home energy needs. The combination of these events warrants the declaration of an emergency and the immediate release of funds. We believe that the Administration should release funds to all the states based on the formula allocation."
LIHEAP is a federal block grant program that provides states with annual funding to operate home energy assistance programs for low-income households. In addition to helping to pay energy bills for low-income families and the elderly, LIHEAP helps to fund energy crisis intervention programs, low-cost residential weatherization and other energy-related home repairs.
LIHEAP supports approximately 4.5 million households annually. Nearly half are families with children under 18, with senior citizens, persons with disabilities and working poor individuals as the remaining beneficiaries. Seventy percent of the households have incomes below $8,000 per year.
The release of $200 million comes out of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and leaves a remaining $100 million from the Reed-Collins amendment in the Omnibus Appropriations bill ---- bringing the fiscal year 2003 LIHEAP regular funding to $1.8 billion – $400 million more than the President requested in his budget.
Senators Collins and Reed co-chair the Northeast-Midwest Senate Coalition, a bipartisan coalition of Senators from the Northeast, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, dedicated to improving the environmental quality and economic vitality of the region. LIHEAP is a vital regional program which provides home energy assistance to some of our nation's most vulnerable citizens, including families with children, the elderly, and disabled individuals. On average, the energy burden of a low-income household is five times higher than all other households.
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