Political Quotes

“the Sanders-Kind amendment would increase funding for the very successful Weatherization Assistance Program by $15 million, from $225 million to $240 million. Even with this $15 million increase that we are proposing, funding for the weatherization program would still be $48 million less than the President's request. We are not sure yet what the offset is, and that is an issue we will be working with the majority on. According to the statement of administration policy that was endorsed by the Office of Management and Budget: ``The administration opposes the $63 million reduction from the President's $288 million request for the Weatherization Assistance Program that assists low-income families with their energy bills while conserving energy for the Nation. The President is committed to increasing funding for this program by $1.4 billion over 10 years.'' I do not often agree with the priorities established by the Bush administration, but on this issue they are absolutely right. One of the absurdities in terms of public policy both for the needs of low-income people and in terms of environmental protection is that we have huge numbers of low-income people throughout this country who are living in homes that are very poorly insulated, where energy is going right through the doors, through the roofs, through the windows, and it is a very sound investment indeed when we improve the weatherization of their homes.”