Political Quotes

“I rise in support of S. 2000, a bill to reauthorize the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program and the Head Start Programs. These programs have been effective in helping those in poverty, especially children, to get through difficult economic times. My constituents in Connecticut have not shared in the economic recovery taking place in the rest of the country, and this bill is very important to us. I am pleased to see that this bill does not make cuts to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP. LIHEAP provides Federal heating assistance to over 75,000 low-income households in Connecticut. These households are mainly made up of elderly, disabled, or working poor individuals and families. LIHEAP was especially important to them this past winter, when my State experienced exceptionally cold weather. Considering the importance of LIHEAP to my State, I was disturbed when President Clinton released his budget earlier this year with major cuts in LIHEAP funding. Even though many frivolous programs appear in this year's budget, President Clinton instead chose LIHEAP as a program to be cut by 50 percent. President Clinton spent three winters in Connecticut. He should have remembered the cold winters we experience in the Northeast and thought about how LIHEAP dollars have been dollars well spent. LIHEAP has probably saved lives.”