Political Quotes

“LIHEAP is a vital heating assistance program for low-income families with children, senior citizens and disabled individuals. My colleagues in the Northeast-Midwest Senate Coalition work tirelessly every year to increase funding for this program and to ensure that these resources get to those most in need. There is a terrible reality some low-income households must face each winter, to heat or to eat. Imagine a hard working low-income family that cannot cover the costs of basic necessities in the winter having to ask: Do I heat my home or provide enough food for my children? Or, imagine being an elderly couple and living on a fixed income who has to decide: Do we pay the heating bill or do we buy medicine? In Maine, a majority of our low-income families use heating oil to stay warm. When there is no oil, there is no heat. LIHEAP is the program that keeps the heat on for these families. My State of Maine had to lower this year's benefit by $100 in order to serve the 48,000 households that needed assistance. Over 60 percent of the recipient in my State are elderly living on a fixed income of only $10,000 a year. This year, 4,500 additional households applied for assistance. Many of these families needed help because they are unemployed and have exhausted unemployment benefits.”