"We have long fought for increased funding for LIHEAP which provided critical assistance to 45,700 Maine households last winter alone. With application expectations for this year exceeding 60,000 homes and escalating energy prices, there is an urgent and substantial need for greater federal support of LIHEAP prior to the impending cold winter months," said the Senators in a joint statement. "There is a limited window of opportunity to transfer the much-needed funding prior to the end of the fiscal year and the onset of the typically harsh Maine winter."
This month, the lock-in price for heating oil in Maine is $1.61 per gallon - a $.23 increase from last January. Current predictions estimate the price per gallon to reach as high as $2.00, translating into a household home energy bill increase of nearly $400 for the 2004-2005 winter months. In a letter to HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, the Senators urged increased federal support for LIHEAP outlining these concerns.
"For many low-income families, disabled individuals, and senior citizens living on fixed incomes, home energy costs are unaffordable. These families carry a higher energy burden than most Americans – spending up to 17 percent of their income on home energy bills. States in the Northeast and Midwest, which we represent, face some of the nation's highest energy prices and cost-of-living expenses, placing additional financial burdens on low-income households. Unfortunately, LIHEAP reaches only 15 percent of the 30 million households eligible for assistance. The program needs at least $3 billion simply to equal the purchasing power it provided in 1982. Transferring funds to LIHEAP before the end of the fiscal year will provide critical resources to states to reduce the energy burdens of low-income households," the bipartisan letter spearheaded by Collins and Snowe read.
Senator Collins is co-chair of the Northeast-Midwest Senate Coalition with Senator Jack Reed (D-RI).