Durbin Asks for Immediate Action to Help Illinois Residents Heat Their Homes

DURBIN ASKS FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION TO HELP ILLINOIS RESIDENTS HEAT THEIR HOMES

U.S. Senators Dick Durbin joined Democratic colleagues in sending a letter this week to Senate Majority Leader, Bill Frist (R-TN), urging him to take immediate action to help low-income Americans by bringing a measure to the floor that provides an additional $2.92 billion for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

"With heating bills up 41 percent in the Midwest this winter, many people face the choice to heat or eat," Durbin said. "LIHEAP was created to assist our lowest-income families and seniors, but this year's funding isn't covering even half of those who need help. Of the 800,000 Illinoisans are eligible, only 300,000 are receiving assistance. And with dramatically higher utility bills this winter, costing the average Illinois family $1,200 to stay warm, the need is greater than ever. LIHEAP is severely under-funded and we must take immediate action to put additional money into the program."

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is a federally funded program which provides heating and cooling assistance to almost 5 million low-income households, including the working poor, those making the difficult transition from welfare to work, disabled persons, the elderly and families with young children. Assistance comes in the form of block grants to state programs that help eligible households pay for the costs of home energy. Often, people living in poverty and low-income elderly must choose between buying fuel to heat their homes and buying food for themselves and their families. Durbin noted that the program targets people who need help the most.

In Illinois, requests for government help to pay heating bills were up, over 40 percent in 2005. As of mid-December, a total of 236,131 Illinois residents had applied for LIHEAP assistance, compared with 166,965 applications at that time the year before. In Illinois, several city offices are receiving a dramatically higher number of calls from people who cannot afford to pay their heating bills. Some offices report that seniors are forgoing purchasing their prescriptions or not buying food in order to attempt to pay the energy bill.

"Experts tell us that the top two underlying reasons for homelessness in America are inability to pay for rent and inability to pay for utilities," said Durbin. "The costs of not providing help to those who need it in our state and other states facing similar problems are far greater than the cost of adequately funding the LIHEAP program."

During fiscal year 2005, LIHEAP allowed the states to help only about 5 million people out of an estimated 32 million eligible for assistance. As part of the energy bill signed into law last summer, Congress authorized $5.1 billion annually for the program for fiscal years 2005, 2006 and 2007. However, the final spending bill for fiscal 2006, which began in October, contained only $2.16 billion.

The text of the letter appears below:

The Honorable William H. Frist
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Majority Leader Frist:

High energy prices are threatening the health and economic well-being of low-income households across the United States. No family in our nation should be forced to choose between heating their home and putting food on the table for their children. No senior citizen should have to decide between buying life saving prescriptions or paying utility bills. Unfortunately, these stark choices are a reality for too many Americans across the nation. We strongly urge you to take immediate action to help low-income Americans by bringing a measure to the floor that provides an additional $2.92 billion for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), as supported by the majority of the Senate.

Since October 5, 2005, the Senate has voted six times to increase LIHEAP funding to $5.1 billion. Bipartisan amendments offered to the Department of Defense Appropriations bill, the Transportation, Treasury and HUD Appropriations bill, the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill, and the Tax Reconciliation bill received a majority of the Senate's support. Unfortunately, these amendments were not given the opportunity for a straight up-or-down vote. In December, 63 Senators supported a successful motion to instruct, which directed the Budget Reconciliation Conference Committee to provide $2.92 billion in additional funding for LIHEAP in FY 2006. Yet, the conference report for the Budget Reconciliation bill includes only $1 billion, with this spending designated for FY 2007. Procedural maneuvers are preventing vital assistance from reaching Americans. These families and seniors deserve help from the federal government.

As you know, the Department of Defense (DoD) Appropriations Conference report originally provided an additional $2 billion for LIHEAP. The LIHEAP funding provided by the DoD conferees was designated as emergency funding. The emergency designation funding is warranted given the high cost of energy this winter, and the lack of growth in workers' wages. Unfortunately, other more controversial matters included in the conference report prevented the retention of the LIHEAP money in final action on that bill.

The Energy Information Agency forecasts that households heating with natural gas will experience an average increase of 35 percent over last winter. Households heating with oil will see an increase of 23 percent, and households using propane can expect an increase of 17 percent. In addition, wages are not keeping pace with inflation. The Real Earnings report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the average hourly earnings of production and non-supervisory workers on private non-farm payrolls were lower in December 2005 than they were a year ago, after accounting for inflation. Working families are continuing to lose ground, meaning more families also need LIHEAP assistance this year. Paychecks are being stretched thinner as families face higher prices for home heating, health care, and education.

We respectfully request that you bring a measure to the Senate floor at the end of this month, or at the latest, early February, that funds LIHEAP at the $5.1 billion level supported by the Senate. We also urge that these resources be allocated in such a way that they will benefit all states and ensure they receive this necessary assistance promptly. American families and seniors have been waiting too long for relief from high energy costs. Thank you for your consideration for this essential request.

http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=250869&&