John Ensign: “we are now engaging in a debate over an amendment. The amendment has to do with the LIHEAP proposal that has been…”

“we are now engaging in a debate over an amendment. The amendment has to do with the LIHEAP proposal that has been brought forth. This first amendment would say to Senators that instead of the original proposal that Senator Snowe put forward, where 75 percent of the money went through the contingency fund, 25 percent goes through the regular formula, that now she has brought forward an amendment that would be 50-50, 50 percent through the contingency fund, 50 percent through the regular formula. If we defeat this amendment, the underlying amendment would say 100 percent of the money goes through the regular formula. Why is that important? It is important because the 50 percent versus the 100 percent going to the regular formula, this is how it breaks down across the country. The red-colored States--this isn't Republican or Democrat, this just happens to be red-colored States in this case-- all would get more funding under the underlying amendment, the one where 100 percent of the money goes through the regular formula. The 50-50 or the underlying bill that Senator Snowe has put forward, basically the white-colored States, 21 of them, would do better under her formula. So it really is a question of fairness. Because the underlying formula in the LIHEAP provisions, the way it is implemented, benefits those 21 States right now. So the first $2 billion that is spent per year benefits 21 States. That is historically what has happened.…”