Jack Reed: “last week Senator Collins and I came to the floor to offer an amendment on the Transportation-Treasury appropriations…”

“last week Senator Collins and I came to the floor to offer an amendment on the Transportation-Treasury appropriations bill to increase funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, more commonly known as LIHEAP. We would have increased the appropriations to the authorized amount of $5.1 billion. With Senator Collins' support, and with the help of 53 other Senators, we came forward to make a statement that in this cold winter that is approaching, with soaring energy prices, Americans needed help and we could do better. Fifty-three Senators, Democrats and Republicans, northerners and southerners, east coasters and west coasters supported our amendment when it came to a vote. But it failed to pass because of a procedural need to acquire 60 votes. We, joined by 30 of our colleagues, are here again today to offer our amendment to the Labor- HHS appropriations bill. Our amendment provides $2.92 billion in emergency spending for the LIHEAP program. This amount, coupled with the $2.18 billion in the Labor-HHS appropriations bill, will fully fund LIHEAP at the authorized level of $5.1 billion, a level authorized by this Congress and signed into law by the President just 3 months ago. At this level, LIHEAP will cover the full increase in recipients' heating costs so they would not be forced to pay more out of their very limited budgets for this winter's heating season.…”