Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2005

DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2005 -- (House of Representatives - September 08, 2004)

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 754 and rule XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union for the consideration of the bill, H.R. 5006.

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AMENDMENT OFFERED BY MR. SANDERS

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

The Clerk read as follows:

Amendment offered by Mr. Sanders:

Page 42, line 11, after the dollar amount insert "(increased by $22,000,000)".
Page 42, line 12, after the dollar amount insert "(increased by $11,000,000)".
Page 42, line 25, after the dollar amount insert "(increased by $11,000,000)".
Page 50, line 12, after the dollar amount insert "(reduced by $26,000,000)".

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, let me begin by thanking the gentleman from Ohio (Chairman REGULA) and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Ranking Member OBEY) for their very, very hard work on this important bill.

Mr. Chairman, as I think every American from Vermont to California knows, in a couple of weeks as winter approaches, people are going to have a very, very rude surprise when they take a look at their home heating bills. I do not have to tell anybody here or anybody in America that the cost of home heating fuels are skyrocketing out of control, and I do not have to tell anybody here that millions and millions and millions of Americans are going to find it increasingly difficult to pay these outrageously high costs in order to keep warm this winter.

Mr. Chairman, according to the Energy Information Administration, the price of heating oil, natural gas and propane are expected to skyrocket. They are going to go off the wall.

The amendment that I am offering today would provide relief to hundreds of thousands of families by increasing funding for the highly successful and widely supported Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, the LIHEAP program, as well as the Weatherization Assistance Program, by $22 million. This increase, I should point out to my friends, would still be $42 million below the President's request. The amendment would be offset by a $26 million reduction in departmental management at the Department of Health and Human Services, which would still provide, with that reduction, level funding for this program.

This amendment has tripartisan support and is being cosponsored by my colleagues, the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons), the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy), the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Bradley), the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey), and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Meehan). It also enjoys the very strong support of the National Community Action Foundation.

Mr. Chairman, from California to Vermont, every American knows that energy costs are only going to go up this winter. Here is what the Energy Information Administration is predicting: Compared to the winters of 1998 to 2000, the price of natural gas will be 55 percent higher; the price of heating oil will be 45 percent higher; and the price of propane will be 41 percent higher.

LIHEAP is the primary program that provides assistance to help lower-income families pay their energy bills, and there has been no time when more people are going to need LIHEAP assistance than now. We are facing a crisis, and if we do not act, large numbers of Americans could well go cold this winter.

Mr. Chairman, in this country no American family should go without heat this winter. Not one senior citizen should choose between heating their homes and paying for the prescription drugs that they need.

Mr. Chairman, LIHEAP and weatherization enjoy broad bipartisan support in Congress. Last March, more than 70 Members of both the House and Senate, including 20 Republicans, cosigned letters calling for $3 billion in funding for LIHEAP. Even if this amendment were signed into law, LIHEAP would still be more than $500 million short of that mark.

Similar amendments that I have offered in the past to increase funding for weatherization have been very successful because I think they have strong tripartisan support, understanding that it is absurd that people lose their heat through faulty windows or roofs, and that it makes sense economically and environmentally to substantially increase weatherization.

Mr. Chairman, for those of us concerned about protecting the financial well-being of lower-income Americans and for those of us concerned about the environment, this is a very important amendment. It will make more homes throughout this country energy-efficient through proper insulation. This is good for low-income people, it is good for the government, it is good for our environment.

The weatherization program also creates good-paying jobs, increases property values, and decreases U.S. energy use by the equivalent of some 15 million barrels of oil every year.

Under this program, 105,000 homes will be weatherized this year, but much more can and must be done, and while 4.8 million families received LIHEAP assistance this year, over 25 million eligible families did not receive any help due to lack of funding from the Federal Government.

Mr. Chairman, we can do better than that, we must do better than that, and I urge my colleagues to vote "yes" on this important amendment.

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Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. REGULA. I yield to the gentleman from Vermont.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I thank my friend for his support for these programs over the years, and I am not going to argue with him about the value of these programs because I know he appreciates the value of the programs.

But what my friend cannot deny is that the cost of heating fuels are skyrocketing. There is no debate about that, and the problem is that if we simply increase weatherization and LIHEAP by a little bit, it is not going to keep up with 30, 40, 50 percent increases in home heating fuel.

I think my friend would recognize, and none of us can predict the weather, but even with an average winter, the fact that heating fuels are soaring will mean that fewer dollars will be available to people, or we are going to have to cut back on the number of people that utilize the programs.

All I am doing, this is not a multibillion-dollar increase, and I know my friend's heart is in the right place on this issue. It is a relatively modest increase of $22 million. I would appreciate support for it.

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Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, if my friend would further yield, I understand that, and it is like I would not be unhappy if the gentleman took care of that in conference. I know it is a tough judgment.

I simply would like the Members to stand up for folks who might go cold this winter. That is the point that I want to make. I am not going to get in a great argument with my colleague here. And perhaps he can adjust that in conference.

Mr. REGULA. Mr. Chairman, well, if the gentleman would be willing to withdraw, we certainly would keep it in mind in conference, because I understand. I come from a State where it gets reasonably cold in the winter, too.

I understand what the gentleman is saying about fuel costs. We do not know, I see gasoline is like a yo-yo. One day it is $1.89 out my way, and the next day it is $1.69. But the problem for the Secretary of HHS to manage all these agencies, what we have tried to do is put in a reasonable amount for his needs.

Now, in conference, maybe we can address this, and we would certainly keep it in mind if the gentleman would consider withdrawing it.

Mr. SANDERS. If the gentleman will continue to yield, Mr. Chairman, I think it is best to give the Members an opportunity to express their will on this, but I thank the gentleman very, very much.

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Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

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