Ronald Machtley: “I rise today as a strong supporter of H.R. 4250. I applaud this committee for the full funding of the Low Income Home…”

“I rise today as a strong supporter of H.R. 4250. I applaud this committee for the full funding of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, better known as LIHEAP. I know that our former colleague, Silvio Conte, is at the Pearly Gates in his green blazer, smiling down at us today for this bill, for he was a champion of the LIHEAP program. I am particularly pleased that this legislation incorporates the language from House Concurrent Resolution 202, introduced by myself and the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Markey]. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the committee for including this provision, which would, among other things, express the sense of Congress that the fiscal year 1995 appropriations made for LIHEAP will be expended, and that expenditures in fiscal year 1996 for LIHEAP should ensure the same or a better level of services. For many of our citizens in this country, this past winter has been the worst in living memory for the disabled, the elderly, the poor, and all those others who depend on LIHEAP have been a struggle to maintain dignity, and for many, a battle to stay alive. LIHEAP serves a critical purpose. It helps prevent the poorest of the poor in the United States of America from freezing to death. From the earliest days of our colony, we gathered together, we pooled our resources, to ensure that all had heat.”