Carol Shea-Porter: “Thank you for the time, and I thank Chairman Spratt and the Budget Committee for producing a fair and responsible…”

“Thank you for the time, and I thank Chairman Spratt and the Budget Committee for producing a fair and responsible budget, a moral document that is fiscally responsible. Mr. Chairman, I have been deeply concerned about the President's proposed cuts to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program known as LIHEAP. LIHEAP provides critical assistance to millions of families in America. Every winter, tens of thousands of families in New Hampshire rely on this program to heat their homes. Over 40,000 members each year for the past 2 years have applied to the fuel assistance program for help with heating bills. This winter, the average cost of heating a home with heating oil is expected to climb to over $2,000 per family, more than three times the $627 that it cost just 6 years ago. But LIHEAP has not failed to keep pace with the dramatic cost. It has actually dropped.”