Jack Reed: “the instructions that the Senator from Pennsylvania sent to the Chair, in my understanding, would designate the full…”

“the instructions that the Senator from Pennsylvania sent to the Chair, in my understanding, would designate the full amount of LIHEAP funding that is currently in the appropriations bill as emergency spending. I understand the motivation. This bill is underfunded. There are valuable programs that need additional resources. Both the Senator from Pennsylvania and the Senator from Iowa strove mightily to try to provide those resources. They are attempting today to try to free up about $2 billion to classify some money as emergency spending, LIHEAP money. I understand the motivation, but I think it is extremely poor policy. This LIHEAP program is composed of two components. There is a regular formula program which each and every year every State in this country depends upon to provide heating and cooling assistance to its citizens. The application process begins before the heating and cooling season. It is usually conducted from community action centers. This whole infrastructure suddenly now is going to be declared an emergency process. That would send a terrible signal throughout this country about our commitment to low-income heating assistance. It would open a situation of uncertainty and a situation that would be counterproductive to helping poor people struggling with heating bills in the winter and cooling bills in the summer. This would, again, in my view, create a terrible precedent.…”