Political Quotes

“I commend subcommittee chairman Senator Harkin, subcommittee ranking member Senator Specter, Appropriations chairman Senator Byrd, and ranking member Senator Cochran for providing a total of about $2.6 billion in funding for LIHEAP in the Omnibus appropriations bill. Their job was a difficult one. There was not enough money available to do all that needed to be done, but they did their best for LIHEAP and for our critical needs. Unfortunately, this $2.6 billion in funding for LIHEAP, while an 18-percent increase from last year, is still 23 percent below what was provided for LIHEAP just 2 years ago. That 23 percent reduction is not even adjusting for inflation. We are talking here about nominal dollars. Two years ago, the price of heating oil was less than $2.50 a gallon; today, it is over $3.30 a gallon. In central Vermont, we have seen prices as high as $3.73 a gallon this winter for heating oil. According to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, due to insufficient funding, the average LIHEAP grant only pays for 18 percent of the total cost of heating a home with heating oil this winter, 21 percent of residential propane costs, 41 percent of natural gas costs, and 43 percent of electricity costs. What this means, in plain English, is that low-income families with children, senior citizens on fixed incomes, and people with disabilities will have to make up the remaining cost out of their own pockets.”