Cord Byrd: “I have been around the Senate for a long time, and I have been serving West Virginia for a long time. I have seen many…”

“I have been around the Senate for a long time, and I have been serving West Virginia for a long time. I have seen many seasons in my time in this Senate, and I know that with each season comes its challenges. There is strength and beauty in West Virginia winters, but the impacts of recent hurricanes and other energy challenges will test our ability to meet our needs this coming season. These colder temperatures mean that West Virginians and Americans in many regions of this country will be struggling to heat their homes. I know, as winter approaches, many West Virginians will be faced with tough choices about whether to use their paychecks to heat their homes, to fill their cars with gasoline, or to buy winter clothes for their children. I sympathize with those who have to make these tough choices, and these hard-working Americans deserve some measure of relief. I strongly support the Reed/Collins amendment. We need to fully fund the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, LIHEAP. This program is critical for those in my State and across the country who will be facing a tough winter. Colder winter months, coupled with the simultaneous challenges of an increase in poverty, a growing elderly population, and ever-increasing home heating costs, will make this program crucial. The LIHEAP program fills the gap for the poorest and most vulnerable of our citizens, allowing them the sanctuary of a warm home, something to which each and every American is entitled.…”