Barbara Kennelly: “I rise in strong objection to the rule and the rescissions that follow this rule. The gentleman from Louisiana said that…”

“I rise in strong objection to the rule and the rescissions that follow this rule. The gentleman from Louisiana said that the LIHEAP program, the low-income housing energy assistance program, is no longer needed. Maybe if you live in Louisiana it is no longer needed. But tell that to the 5 million people, families headed by disabled, families headed by people who earn $8,000 a year. Heat is still expensive, and it is still cold in New England. Mr. Speaker, I strongly oppose this bill which is nothing more than an attempt to transfer wealth from the neediest in our country to those very well off, and to Fortune 500 companies. For instance, and there are many examples, in 1993, more than 5 million households across the country, 1.7 million of them in New England, benefited from funding under LIHEAP. The program offers heating assistance to low-income, disabled, and elderly families; more than 70 percent of the recipients have annual incomes of less than $8,000. In New England, where our winters are long and harsh, low-income families pay nearly four times more of their income for energy than the average family. Mr. Speaker, it would be hard to believe that this would be one of the first programs picked on, but it is even more unbelievable when you know it would go to pay for a fiscally irresponsible tax bill which loses $188 billion over 5 years and $630 billion over 10 years.”