Maria Cantwell: “I am pleased, colleagues, that we have been able to reach consensus on the need to include in this bill an increase in…”

“I am pleased, colleagues, that we have been able to reach consensus on the need to include in this bill an increase in the authorization level for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) program from $2 billion to $3.4 billion. With power costs on the rise around this nation, it is imperative that the Senate act now to respond to the needs of the 85 percent of eligible families that today do not receive the help they so desperately need, due to the perennially under-funded nature of the LIHEAP program. There is another issue relevant to the LIHEAP program, however, that I hope the Senate will soon consider. I believe that we must address the manner in which the Department of Health and Human Services--and, of course, the Office of Management and Budget--have traditionally administered the ``contingency'' portion of the LIHEAP program.”