Judd Gregg: “Obviously, the amendment that is now pending of the Senator from Rhode Island and the Senator from Maine is an amendment…”

“Obviously, the amendment that is now pending of the Senator from Rhode Island and the Senator from Maine is an amendment I am sympathetic to. Those of us who come from the northern States, whether they be in the Midwest or New England, recognize that winter can be a beautiful time. Snow is wonderful, lovely, and certainly brings skiers to our region, and we very much encourage that. But it can also be an extraordinarily difficult time, difficult for people who are living on a fixed income, a set income, difficult for folks who have to find ways to heat their home and also meet the expenses of everyday life. Certainly keeping home heating is about as important an expense as you can have in everyday life. It is especially hard on senior citizens, seniors who have obviously fixed incomes in most instances. When the price of their fuel oil jumps significantly, they do not have a whole lot of opportunity to adjust their income because they are no longer earning a salary, usually, in most instances in order to meet that increase in cost. We have obviously seen a dramatic rise in the cost of energy prices, especially home heating oil and in the gas area for homes. So the issue becomes how do we help these people who, through no action of their own, find themselves in a dire financial situation and facing a very stark situation this winter, should they not have the dollars necessary to pay for their home heating oil.…”