Jack Reed: “I will make a few additional comments in the remaining time with respect to the LIHEAP program and this legislation.…”

“I will make a few additional comments in the remaining time with respect to the LIHEAP program and this legislation. This is a very simple amendment. It adds $3.1 billion. It would bring it up to the level that was authorized in the Energy bill which we considered on this floor several weeks ago, recognizing the authorization levels had to be raised given the increase in prices, given the need for more Americans to access the LIHEAP program. The energy costs to the average family using heating oil this winter are estimated to hit about $1,500, and that is a significant increase, about $400 over last year. Natural gas could hit over $1,000, an increase of $350. Propane prices are projected to hit $1,400 for the average prices for the whole year of heating, an increase of about $325. This is particularly burdensome for low-income families and families in poverty. In fact, families who live in poverty spend over 20 percent of their income on heat. That is in contrast to other families, middle- and upper-income families who spend about 5 percent during a heating season. So this is a huge impact, in fact, a more aggravated impact, on low-income Americans. Frankly, the choice for many seniors is very stark: to heat or to eat. A RAND study pointed out that low-income households reduce their food expenditures by roughly the same amount as their increases in fuel expenditures. They cut back on eating to heat their homes.…”