Congressional Republicans Strip $2 Billion in LIHEAP Funding as Pay Back for Defeat of ANWR Oil Drilling Provision

CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS STRIP $2 BILLION IN LIHEAP FUNDING AS PAY BACK FOR DEFEAT OF ANWR OIL DRILLING PROVISION
12/23/2005

Vermont will lose over $2.5 million in LIHEAP funding as a result

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) sharply criticized Congressional Republican leaders for stripping $2 billion in LIHEAP funding in the final days of the session in retaliation for the defeat of controversial provisions that would have opened up the Alaskan wilderness to oil drilling. That translates into a $2.564 million loss for the State of Vermont in LIHEAP formula funding. As a result, the highly successful LIHEAP program is slated to receive fewer dollars this year than last year because of a 1% across the board cut to all federal programs, while the price of heating oil, propane, kerosene and natural gas is skyrocketing. Sanders said this is just the latest example of Congressional Republicans' attack on programs benefiting middle income and working families.

Sanders said, "It's a cruel irony that the week before Christmas the Republican Congressional leadership is stripping funding that will keep people warm this winter. It is wrong to punish American families and lower income senior citizens just because the Senate would not go along with a plan to give big oil the right to drill in environmentally-sensitive areas of the Alaskan wilderness. This latest move is particularly outrageous becomes it comes on the heels of an ongoing effort to cut $40 billion from programs like Medicare, Medicaid, student loans, and childrens' health care while cutting taxes largely for the wealthiest by $70 billion. The time is long overdue for the Republican leadership to stop worrying about their millionaire friends, and start paying attention to the middle class and working families of this country."

http://bernie.house.gov/documents/document.asp?issueNum=4724