"LIHEAP is a vital safety net for our nation's low-income households. For many families, disabled individuals and senior citizens living on fixed incomes, home energy costs are unaffordable. Without LIHEAP assistance, low-income families and senior citizens face the impossible choice between paying their home energy bills or affording other basic necessities such as prescription drugs, housing and food," wrote Reed and Collins.
The need for LIHEAP assistance has grown rapidly over the last few years. Five million households received assistance during the 2000-2001 winter, and states across the country experienced increased requests for applications this winter. In FY2001, states received $2.25 billion in LIHEAP funding. Despite this historic level of funding, it is estimated that states were only able to serve 17 percent of the 29 million eligible households. While energy prices are lower this year, they remain a significant cost for many Americans. Many low-income families, including elderly and working families, face an energy crisis with energy burdens that exceed 20 percent of their household income. The slowing economy and subsequent lay-offs made it more difficult for families to afford heating their homes this coming winter.
Northeast-Midwest Senators that support increased appropriations for LIHEAP included: Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), Carl Levin (D-MI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Paul Wellstone (D-MN), Mark Dayton (D-MN), Ted Kennedy (D-MA), John Kerry (D-MA), Mike DeWine (R-OH), George Voinovich (R-OH), Herb Kohl (D-WI), Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Jon Corzine (D-NJ), Robert Torricelli (D-NJ), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Jim Jeffords (I-VT), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Joseph Biden (D-DE), Bob Smith (R-NH), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Richard Lugar (R-IN). -more- The Northeast-Midwest Senate Coalition is a bipartisan coalition of Senators from the Northeast, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic dedicated to improving the environmental quality and economic vitality of the region. LIHEAP is a vital regional program which provides home energy assistance to some of our nation's most vulnerable citizens, including families with children, the elderly, and disabled individuals. On average, the energy burden of a low-income household is five times higher than all other households.