Tax Relief Act of 2005

TAX RELIEF ACT OF 2005 -- (Senate - November 17, 2005)

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Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, this amendment would express the sense of the Senate that any increases in revenues to the Treasury as a result of this act, above the amounts specified in the reconciliation instructions, shall be dedicated to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, also known as LIHEAP, up to the fully authorized amount.

Just a few months ago, the President signed into law the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This law, which passed the Senate overwhelmingly, authorizes $5.1 billion for the LIHEAP program for Fiscal Year 2006. Unfortunately, even though Chairman SPECTER worked very hard to increase funding in the Labor-HHS bill, that bill only provides $2.2 billion in LIHEAP funding but $2.2 billion is not nearly enough. The amendment I am offering today expresses the sense of the Senate that up to an additional $2.9 billion in excess revenues should be made available to the LIHEAP program.

Our Nation was struck by three extremely powerful hurricanes. While these hurricanes were devastating to the people of Florida and the gulf coast, they have also had a major impact on the rest of the Nation. Just as the Nation should be building oil supplies for the winter heating season, these hurricanes have disrupted our already strained supplies and sent both heating oil and gasoline prices to painfully high levels.

While high energy prices have been challenging for almost all Americans, they impose an especially difficult burden on low-income families and on the elderly living on limited incomes. Low-income families spend a greater percentage of their incomes on energy and have fewer options available when energy prices soar. High energy prices can even cause families to choose between keeping the heat on, putting food on the table, or paying for much-needed prescription medicine. These are choices that no American family should ever have to make.

We need more LIHEAP funding this year. Let me describe the situation that we are facing in my home state. While the official start of winter is still 2 months away, temperatures have already fallen below freezing in much of Maine. In Maine, 78 percent of households use home heating oil to heat their homes. Currently, the cost of home heating oil is roughly $2.34 per gallon, $0.38 above last year's already inflated prices. These high prices greatly increase the need for assistance, and at least 3,000 additional Mainers are expected to apply for LIHEAP funding this year. With more people in need of assistance, the benefit is expected to fall by roughly 10 percent to $440 per qualifying household. Unfortunately, at today's high prices, $440 is only enough to purchase 188 gallons of oil--far below last year's equivalent benefit of 251 gallons and not nearly enough to get through even a small portion of a Maine winter. With rising prices and falling benefits, we have a problem. Just to purchase the same amount of oil this year as last year, Maine would need an additional $10 million in LIHEAP funds.

The bill before us is still a work in progress, and at this point it is impossible to know whether the final bill that we pass shall provide any increases in revenues to the Treasury beyond the amounts specified in the reconciliation instructions. I would note that Senator WYDEN offered an amendment in committee that eliminates an unnecessary tax subsidy for major oil and gas companies. This subsidy is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. I believe we should eliminate even more unnecessary subsidies for oil gas companies. Regardless, I believe that should this act result in any increase in revenues to the Treasury beyond the reconciliation instructions, those revenues should go to the LIHEAP program, up to the fully authorized amount.

With winter fast approaching and energy prices soaring, home heating bills are set to pound family budgets mercilessly. For low income families, LIHEAP funds can be the factor that prevents families from having to choose between turning off the heat or putting food on the table. I call on my colleagues to support this amendment expressing the sense of the Senate that we should fully fund the LIHEAP program.

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