WASHINGTON, DC -- In an effort to help more Rhode Island families heat their homes this winter, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) along with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and 35 of their Senate colleagues today urged President Bush to release $586 million in contingency funds for the Low-Income Housing Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) as soon as he signs the 2008 Appropriation bill into law. Earlier this week Congress passed an appropriations spending bill containing a total of $2.57 billion for LIHEAP, including $586 million in emergency contingency funds, which are released to states at the President's discretion.

In a bipartisan letter to President Bush today the senators wrote: "We request that your Administration release the $586 million in FY2008 LIHEAP contingency funds that were recently approved by Congress to help low-income seniors and families with their home energy expenses during a winter that has already seen a significant share of severe winter weather and cold conditions and promises only to get colder."

"Congress approved this money to help people deal with severe weather and rising energy prices. President Bush should quickly sign the bill into law and release the LIHEAP money," said Reed, Chairman of the Northeast-Midwest Coalition. "This additional funding will help provide heating assistance to thousands of Rhode Islanders and millions of American families in jeopardy of losing service. It is important we get this money out to people quickly before they have their heating shut off during the cold winter months."

Despite the fact that energy prices have soared during his Administration, President Bush proposed cutting LIHEAP funds this year. His 2008 budget blueprint called for $1.782 billion for LIHEAP. However, Senators Reed, Collins and others fought for additional funding and succeed in including $2.57 billion for the program, $788 million more than the President's proposal and an increase of over $406 million over the 2007 spending level.

Last year, nearly 30,000 Rhode Island households relied on LIHEAP to assist with the costs of heating their homes and to pay delinquent utilities bills to re-establish service. In 2008, Rhode Island is expected to receive at least $13.5 million dollars in LIHEAP block grant funding, plus additional money from the contingency fund.

"Rising energy costs are making it more difficult for families and seniors to stretch their household budgets. Releasing this contingency funding now would go a long way towards helping ensure that more Rhode Islanders are not forced to choose between keeping the heat on and buying groceries or filling their prescriptions," said Reed.

The text of the letter follows:

December 21, 2007

The President

The White House

Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

The Consolidated Appropriations bill for FY2008 included $2.57 billion in funding for the Low Income Housing and Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), including $586 million in contingency funds to be released at your discretion. We are writing to urge you to release the LIHEAP funds immediately. The high energy prices facing consumers and the severe weather of the past few weeks warrant this release.

This winter, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that households can expect to pay between 10 to 22 percent more for heating fuels than during the 2006-2007 winter, and many of these families are carrying energy debt from previous years. As such, states need additional funding immediately to reduce the energy burden on families, individuals with disabilities, and senior citizens to ensure their health and safety through the cold winter months.

Between FY2003 and FY2007 the number of households receiving LIHEAP assistance increased by 26 percent from 4.6 million to about 5.8 million or about 15.6 percent of the eligible population. During this same period, the federal appropriation increased by only 10 percent with the resulting average grant declining from $349 to $305. Unfortunately, energy prices are not decreasing proportionally, but instead continue to rise. Home heating prices are projected by the EIA to reach almost $1,000 this year for the typical family, an increase of almost 80 percent higher than the average cost of home heating during the winter of 2001-02. As a result, there has been a significant decrease in the program's purchasing power. According to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, states are planning to reduce the number of households served by about 15 percent in the absence of additional federal and supplemental state funding. The result would be a decline in the number of households served from about 5.8 million in FY2007 to 4.9 million.

LIHEAP is vital to protecting the public health and safety of low-income families. According to the Children's Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program (C-SNAP) out of Boston Medical Center, babies and toddlers who live in energy insecure households are more likely to suffer poor health, require hospitalization, manifest developmental problems, and lack adequate food. C-SNAP found that when families do not have access to sufficient energy, they may resort to unsafe heating methods and do not have the proper means to refrigerate or prepare food for their children. In addition, without a sufficient LIHEAP benefit, seniors living on fixed incomes often have to decide between buying life-saving prescriptions and paying utility bills. For individuals and households that may have to face these difficult choices, LIHEAP makes a real difference in their ability to cope with adverse circumstances.

We request that your Administration release the $586 million in FY2008 LIHEAP contingency funds that were recently approved by Congress to help low-income seniors and families with their home energy expenses during a winter that has already seen a significant share of severe winter weather and cold conditions and promises only to get colder.

Sincerely,

Jack Reed

Susan M. Collins

Tom Harkin

Arlen Specter

Robert P. Casey, Jr.

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Olympia J. Snowe

Bernard Sanders

Norm Coleman

Joseph R. Biden

Lisa Murkowski

Herb Kohl

Barbara A. Mikulski

Ron Wyden

John F. Kerry

Patty Murray

Christopher J. Dodd

Sheldon Whitehouse

Edward M. Kennedy

Barack Obama

Max Baucus

Richard G. Lugar

John D. Rockefeller IV

Ken Salazar

Debbie Stabenow

Frank R. Lautenberg

Sherrod Brown

Joseph I. Lieberman

Maria Cantwell

Mary L. Landrieu

Carl Levin

John E. Sununu

Richard J. Durbin

Judd Gregg

Patrick J. Leahy

Jeff Bingaman

Amy Klobuchar