Arlen Specter: “I believe the amendment which has been offered by the Senator from Rhode Island and the Senator from Maine is one of…”

“I believe the amendment which has been offered by the Senator from Rhode Island and the Senator from Maine is one of necessity. It is regrettable that fuel costs have grown so high, occasioned by a great many factors, one of which is what has happened with Hurricane Katrina and the elevation of oil, the elevation of natural gas prices. This issue of low-income home energy assistance, LIHEAP, has been a difficult matter for this subcommittee for the 24 years I have been on the subcommittee because it poses such a drastic alternative for so many people. The comment ``heat or eat'' is a very accurate one. That really is the choice for so many, especially the elderly. I have supported funding for LIHEAP in the past, and I believe it is accurately characterized as an emergency. I say that recognizing the very heavy, burdensome obligations the Federal Government has and that spending is a very major issue. But when it comes down to the exigencies of this moment where we have appropriated so much money to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina, we are talking about brothers and sisters of those victims of people who live in Rhode Island or New Hampshire or Maine or Pennsylvania or so many States in the Union. So I will be supporting the amendment Senator Reed and Senator Collins have offered. I have been advised that there will be an alternative amendment put forward to have an across-the-board cut.…”