Subject: RELEASE: Senator Clinton Urges Adding $1 Billion In Emergency Funding For LIHEAP
From: "Clinton, Press Office (Clinton)" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2007 15:31:58 -0500

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 4, 2007

 

Contact: Press Office

(212) 688-9780

SENATOR CLINTON URGES ADDING $1 BILLION IN EMERGENCY FUNDING FOR LIHEAP

Clinton Urges Action to Assist Low-Income Households In Coming Winter
Months As Energy Prices Reach Record Highs

To Ensure Critical Emergency Funding For LIHEAP Is Provided, Senator
Clinton Also Co-Sponsors The Keep Americans Warm Act Of 2007

Washington, D.C. - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton announced that she has
joined a bipartisan coalition of Senators in calling on the Labor,
Health and Human Services, and Related Appropriations Subcommittee to
include an additional $1 billion in emergency funding for the Low Income
Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). In a letter to the Chairman and
Ranking Member, the lawmakers urged the subcommittee to provide
assistance to households this winter that are facing hardships due to
rapidly escalating energy costs by increasing emergency funding for the
LIHEAP program by $1 billion for a total of $3.412 billion for FY 2008.
In addition, Senator Clinton today cosponsored the Keep Americans Warm
Act of 2007, a bill that would provide for the critical $1 billion in
emergency funding.

"With oil prices hovering near record levels and energy prices reaching
all time highs, the emergency funding for LIHEAP would provide critical
relief for New Yorker's and other Americans who cannot afford to keep
their families warm this winter," Senator Clinton said. "Low-income
households disproportionately endure the burden of rising energy costs,
and we must act now to supply them with the appropriate assistance so
that no one has to suffer through the frigid winter temperatures without
heat."

Between FY2003 and FY2007 the number of households receiving LIHEAP
assistance increased by 26 percent from 4.6 million to about 5.8 million
or about 15.6 percent of the eligible population.  During this same
period, the federal appropriation increased by only 10 percent with the
resulting average grant declining from $349 to $305, significantly
decreasing the program's purchasing power.  Unfortunately, with oil
prices nearing $100 per barrel, energy prices are not decreasing
proportionally. In other words, while the cost of heating one's home
continues to rise; federal heating assistance will be significantly
lower. This is why it is essential that the Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Related Appropriations Subcommittee include an additional
$1 billion in emergency funding for LIHEAP. 

Senator Clinton has worked tirelessly to increase LIHEAP funding to make
sure low income New Yorkers are able to heat their homes in the midst of
record energy costs. As early as this November, Senator Clinton called
on President Bush to make available the remaining $20 million in the
LIHEAP contingency fund (See- 
http://clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=287872&&), and
joined several of her senate colleagues in calling on the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) to support a funding level of $5.1 billion
for LIHEAP for the FY 2009 (See - 
http://clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=287040&&).

A copy of the letter to Senators Harkin and Specter is attached - 

December 3, 2007

The Honorable Tom Harkin, Chairman                                      

The Honorable Arlen Specter, Ranking Member

Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, 

and Education, and Related Agencies

Committee on Appropriations

Washington, DC  20510

Dear Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Specter:

          We are writing to request that you include an additional $1
billion in emergency funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance
Program (LIHEAP) in fiscal year 2008 to provide for a total of $3.412
billion.  We recognize the difficult budget constraints that the
Subcommittee faces and appreciate your support for additional funding
for the LIHEAP program in FY2008 Labor, Health and Human Services, and
Related Appropriations Conference Report that was vetoed.  

          With the price of oil hovering near $100 per barrel, and the
Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimating that households can
expect to pay between 10 to 26 percent more for heating fuels than
during the 2007-2008 winter, states need additional funding immediately
to reduce the energy burden of families, individuals with disabilities,
and senior citizens and ensure their health and safety this winter. 

          Between FY2003 and FY2007 the number of households receiving
LIHEAP assistance increased by 26 percent from 4.6 million to about 5.8
million or about 15.6 percent of the eligible population.  During this
same period, the federal appropriation increased by only 10 percent with
the resulting average grant declining from $349 to $305.  Unfortunately,
energy prices are not decreasing proportionally, but instead continue to
rise.  As a result, there has been a significant decrease in the
program's purchasing power.  According to the National Energy Assistance
Directors Association, states are planning to reduce the number of
households served by about 15 percent in the absence of additional
federal and supplemental state funding.  The result would be a decline
in the number of households served from about 5.8 million in FY2007 to
4.9 million.  For these reasons, we believe an additional $1 billion in
emergency funding is warranted.

          LIHEAP is vital to protecting the public health and safety of
low-income families. According to the Children's Sentinel Nutrition
Assessment Program (C-SNAP) out of Boston Medical Center, babies and
toddlers who live in energy insecure households are more likely to
suffer poor health, require hospitalization, manifest developmental
problems, and lack adequate food. C-SNAP found that when families do not
have access to sufficient energy, they may resort to unsafe heating
methods and do not have the proper means to refrigerate or prepare food
for their children.  In addition, without a sufficient LIHEAP benefit,
seniors living on fixed incomes often have to decide between buying
life-saving prescriptions and paying utility bills.  For individuals and
households that may have to face these difficult choices, LIHEAP makes a
real difference in their ability to cope with adverse circumstances.  

          Moreover, the program helps low-income homeowners weatherize
their homes to save energy and lower their energy burden.
Weatherization, on average, reduces heating bills by 31 percent and
overall energy bills by $200 to $250 per year. 

          Thank you for your consideration.  We look forward to working
with you to increase funding for the LIHEAP program to ensure that
low-income seniors, individuals with disabilities, and families have the
resources that they need to stay warm this winter.  

Sincerely,

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