Supplemental Appropriations

Floor Speech

SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS -- (Senate - May 21, 2008)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I want to say a few words about two important components of the domestic supplemental bill which, in my view, must be passed whenever we end up considering that legislation, and that is the new GI educational bill and the billion dollars in the bill for the Low Income Heating Assistance Program.

As an early cosponsor of the post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act, I am here today to ask my colleagues not only to pass this legislation but pass it with big numbers so if President Bush decides to veto it, we will have the votes--and he knows we will have the votes--to override that veto.

The soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan have paid a very heavy toll. In Iraq alone, over 4,000 have died, over 30,000 have been injured, and tens of thousands more have come home with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

In my State of Vermont, middle-aged dads and moms have left their families, they have left their kids, they have left their jobs, and they have joined their fellow members of the National Guard and Reserve in a kind of war they never dreamed they would be fighting. But they went to war and they did their jobs, and they did their jobs well and without complaint. They gave as much as they could give for their country, and now it is our turn to give back, not only for them but for the well-being of our entire economy.

The original GI bill was an appropriate way for a grateful nation to say thank you for the service and sacrifice of those who wore our country's uniform. That bill was not only a way to express our appreciation to the greatest generation, but it enabled millions of Americans to get a college education, and by doing that, it helped reshape the American economy, it created immense wealth, and allowed millions of Americans to enter the middle class.

There are, in fact, those who believe that the GI bill was one of the major reasons for the strong economic spurt this country enjoyed from the end of World War II to the early 1970s.

Unfortunately, as many returning soldiers understand, today's GI educational benefits do not match up with what the World War II veterans received and do not come close today to covering the cost of a college education. That is why it is so important that we update these benefits by passing the new GI bill, both for our Active-Duty soldiers and for the National Guard and Reserve.

As a nation, we must understand that caring for our servicemembers is part of the cost of going to war. If we are going to go to war, we cannot forget about the men and women who put their lives on the line and returned from that war.

There are some who say this bill is too generous for our servicemembers, that we cannot afford to provide these benefits. I disagree. If we can spend $12 billion every single month paying for the cost of the war in Iraq, we surely can spend the equivalent of 4 months of that war to pay for the cost of the educational benefits for these men and women for a 10-year period.

The new GI bill will cover the highest in-State undergraduate tuition at a public college or university where the veteran is enrolled, plus a living stipend, and would be based on how long the veteran served in active duty. This money could also be applied to law school, medical school, or approved programs of study.

This is an extremely important piece of legislation. I congratulate Senator Webb for offering it. And now it is our job to pass it.

There is another component of the domestic supplemental that also must be passed, and that is the $1 billion in additional funding for LIHEAP that was included in the supplemental appropriations bill through the adoption of an amendment by Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island. I thank Senator Reed for offering that amendment and for getting it passed in the Appropriations Committee by a bipartisan vote of 20 to 9, which included 5 Republicans.

Furthermore, I have been active on that issue by authoring a letter, which was cosigned by 20 of my colleagues, including 4 Republicans, who also understand the absolute imperative for increasing funding for LIHEAP.

Two years ago, under the leadership of Senator Snowe and many other Senators, LIHEAP funding was increased by $1 billion above the appropriated level because it was well understood that at that time, we faced a home heating emergency. I strongly agreed with that assessment. But if we faced a home heating emergency a year ago, we face a much more severe home heating emergency today, and that is because the price of heating oil and propane are escalating off the roof. They are much higher today than they were several years ago. It is absolutely imperative that we significantly increase funding for LIHEAP if we are not to see the purchasing power of this program eviscerated.

While $1 billion is a good step forward, the truth is, we are going to need a lot more than that to keep pace and level fund in terms of real dollars what the American people are receiving from LIHEAP.

Two years ago, as you know, the price of heating oil was less than $2.50 a gallon. Today it is about $4.50 a gallon. What I can tell you is that last winter in the State of Vermont, there were families unable to heat their homes. Families with children became sick because the temperature in those homes was too low. That was last winter. Certainly if that was the case last winter, it will only be worse next winter.

Let us be very clear that the LIHEAP program addresses not only families who are worried about keeping warm in the wintertime, it also addresses the very serious problem of families, especially older people, who, when the weather gets 100-plus degrees, will be too warm in the summertime.

It also addresses the issue of more and more Americans having their electricity disconnected. According to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, which represents the State directors of LIHEAP, a recordbreaking 15.6 million American families, or nearly 15 percent of all households, are at least 30 days late in paying their utility bills. Several States have laws on the books that impose a moratorium on cutting off essential utility services in the winter. However, these utility shutoff moratoriums expire during the spring. Without additional LIHEAP funding, senior citizens on fixed income, low-income families with children, and persons with disabilities from all across this country are in danger of having their essential utility services shut off this spring. This is going on in California, Iowa, Massachusetts--all over this country. Rapidly rising energy costs are the major reason so many Americans are late in paying their energy bills. It is extremely important, therefore, that additional LIHEAP funding be included in the supplemental to address these urgent needs.

I hope very much when we get around to addressing the domestic supplemental bill that, A, we absolutely pass this legislation with strong numbers for our veterans to give them the educational opportunities they need and our country needs and, B, let us not forget that with the cost of gas and oil soaring, millions of Americans will go cold next winter. There are people who will suffer this summer unless we pass an expanded LIHEAP program.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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