Jeff Bingaman: “the amendment we are now discussing and that I have offered on behalf of myself and over 30 cosponsors addresses an…”

“the amendment we are now discussing and that I have offered on behalf of myself and over 30 cosponsors addresses an important problem that is being felt this winter all across America. High energy costs have hit low-income and working Americans hard this winter, and this coming summer promises to be just as expensive in many parts of our country. The high heating bills this winter are the result of a combination of two primary factors: First, higher demand resulting from colder than average weather across the country, we have just seen another major snowstorm in the Northeast, and second, a supply shortfall that stems from lack of drilling 2 years ago when the oil and gas prices were so low. The combination of these two factors has resulted in natural gas and propane bills that are as much as 200 percent higher this year than they were last year. Heating oil prices have been well above last year's average as well. Natural gas prices and tight generating capacity are driving up electricity prices around the country. Of course, California is the area of our country that has gotten the most attention in this regard, but electricity prices in other parts of the country have also escalated. We can predict now that many people in southern States will be especially burdened this summer because of the high cost of trying to maintain air-conditioning. Applications for energy assistance have increased dramatically this year.”