WASHINGTON, DC -- With several states running out of money to help low-income residents pay their home heating bills, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Susan Collins (R-ME), today sent a letter to the Senate Budget Committee requesting that they include $5.1 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in the fiscal year 2008 budget. Reed and Collins were joined by 48 of their Senate colleagues in making the request. LIHEAP is a federal block grant program that provides states with annual funding to operate home energy assistance programs for low-income households. Each year, over 5.5 million low-income families nationwide rely on LIHEAP to assist with the costs of heating and/or cooling their homes. "Too many families and seniors are unable to pay their home heating bills. We need to step up and help people struggling with historically high energy prices," said Reed, the Chairman of the Northeast-Midwest Coalition. "We need an emergency boost in funding to LIHEAP in the near term and to provide adequate resources to put the program on sound financial footing for the future." Senator Collins, also a Chair of the Coalition, said, "The weather may be warming up in some parts of the country, but much of the Northeast and Midwest will still contend with cold temperatures in the weeks and months to come. The extended cold makes it very difficult for some families who can not afford to heat their homes, and LIHEAP makes an enormous difference in their ability to pay the bills to get their families through the winter." A recent report by the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association shows that Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Tennessee, Washington, and West Virginia are either out of LIHEAP money or dangerously low on energy assistance funds. Additionally, several other states, including Rhode Island, are running low on funds and may be forced to scale back the number of households served. Currently, about 30,000 Rhode Island households rely on LIHEAP assistance to off-set their home heating costs and maintain their utility services. "In Rhode Island, the average annual LIHEAP benefit is $450 per home. But unless we act quickly, the number of households receiving LIHEAP assistance could be reduced by as many as 2,000. Congress must take swift action," concluded Reed. "I will continue my efforts to push for additional LIHEAP funding this year in the emergency supplemental spending bill." Reed and Collins succeeded in securing a total of $3.2 billion for LIHEAP for fiscal year 2007. The full text of the letter is below: March 9, 2007 Dear Chairman Conrad and Ranking Member Gregg: The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) provides a vital safety net for our nation's low-income households. LIHEAP helps low-income families and seniors remain healthy and secure from bitter cold winters in the North and hot summers in the South. We are writing to request that the budget provide $5.1 billion for LIHEAP in fiscal 2008, the full amount authorized, and that the allocation provide for advance appropriations for fiscal 2009. Our request to fund LIHEAP at its full funding level is consistent with the $5.1 billion LIHEAP allocation included in the Senate passed fiscal 2007 budget resolution (S. Con. Res. 83). Funding LIHEAP at this level in regular funding and advance appropriations can help working low-income families, senior citizens, and disabled individuals maintain economic stability. For many low-income families, disabled individuals, and senior citizens living on fixed incomes, home energy costs are unaffordable. These families often carry a higher energy burden than most Americans - spending up to 17 percent of their income on home energy bills. Each year, this burden grows as natural gas, heating oil, propane, and electricity prices continue to increase. In addition, the program helps low-income homeowners weatherize their homes to save energy and lower their energy burden. Weatherization, on average, reduces heating bills by 31 percent and overall energy bills by $200 to $250 per year. Energy is a basic need, and 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. In 2005, the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA) surveyed over 2,000 LIHEAP recipients on the choices made by households when faced with high-energy bills. The survey found that in the last five years: 44% skipped paying or paid less than their entire home energy bill in the past year. (Households with children or households with income below 50% of the poverty level were more likely to do so.); 47% went without medical or dental care due to unaffordable energy bills in the past five years; 32% did not fill their prescriptions or took less than their full dose of a prescribed medicine due to energy bills in the past five years; 16% became ill in the past five years because their home was too cold. We also request $5.1 billion in advance funding for LIHEAP in fiscal 2009. Advance funding enables states to pre-purchase fuel and start planning for the winter heating season in spring and early summer as well as plan for a summer cooling program. Advance LIHEAP funding allows states to plan more efficiently and improve program management, and therefore, be more economical with limited federal resources. It also ensures that states provide timely assistance to low-income families who cannot afford to wait. Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to working with you to make sure that working families, seniors, and disabled individuals have the resources necessary to provide for their basic energy needs. Sincerely,ReedCollinsAkakaBaucusBayhBidenBingamanBondBoxerBrownBurrCantwellCaseyClintonColemanCorkerDoddDoleDurbinFeingoldFeinsteinKennedyKerryKlobucharKohlLandrieuLautenbergLeahyLevinLiebermanLincolnLugarMcCaskillMenendezMikulskiMurkowskiObamaPryorRockefellerSalazarSandersSchumerSnoweSpecterStabenowStevensTesterVoinovichWebbWyden