Kennedy Joins Massachusetts Delegation in Request for LIHEAP Funding

Washington, DC—As home heating costs continue to rise, more and more families struggle to make it through the winter months. In Massachusetts 876,000 families are eligible for LIHEAP funds but the program and rate-payer financed utility discounts serve barely 15% of those eligible. At the prices projected by the Department of Energy, even more of those eligible for the program will find themselves in desperate need of assistance to avoid the danger of losing their heating and, possibly, their homes.

5.1 billion in regular LIHEAP funds were authorized in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, but only $2.2 billion was appropriated in fiscal year 2006 for America’s working families and seniors.

January 20, 2006

Joshua B. Bolten
Director
The Office of Management and Budget
725 17th Street NW
Washington, DC 20503

Dear Director Bolten:

We are writing to urge you to include $5.1 billion in regular funds for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in the Administration’s FY07 budget proposal. As you know, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorized LIHEAP at this level.

Today’s energy costs have become unaffordable for many low-income families, persons with disabilities, and senior citizens. The Energy Information Administration has updated its winter bills forecast, and countless families will continue to struggle to make it through this winter.

More than 876,000 LIHEAP-eligible families are in Massachusetts alone, and the increase they’ll have to pay compared to five years ago is almost $500 million. That figure does not include their electricity bills, which are among the nation’s highest and which have also risen. Meanwhile, the incomes of the working-poor and low-income elderly have stagnated.

LIHEAP funding has not kept pace with these increases. Five years ago, when prices rose to two-thirds of the level they are today, President Clinton released FY 2000 and FY 2001 contingency funds early in the heating season and brought that winter’s LIHEAP total to $2.2 billion—10% more than all FY 2006 resources available. Even with that funding, tens of thousands became homeless during the winter when they could not keep their homes warm, and millions lost utility service in the spring of 2001.

Congress passed the current authorization of $5.1 billion in recognition of the clear fact that home heating costs have increased and so has the low-income population. We can no longer fund LIHEAP at its 1985 level of $2.1 billion.

The Massachusetts LIHEAP program and rate-payer financed utility discounts serve barely 15% of those eligible. At the prices projected by the Department of Energy, even more of those eligible for the program will find themselves in desperate need of assistance to avoid the danger of losing their heating and, possibly, their homes.

The people of the Commonwealth have done their part to help their neighbors. Massachusetts ratepayers have paid for utility discounts and weatherization investments for nearly a decade. For this year, the state appropriated $20 million to match federal LIHEAP funds. Yet, these resources are not enough to keep our vulnerable families safe, or even as safe as they were just five years ago.

Families struggling to make ends meet will be faced with impossible choices between paying their home heating bills and affording other basic necessities. A survey by the National Energy Assistance Directors Association found that almost 50 percent of low-income families were unable to pay their energy bills last year. One in three families sacrificed medical care to pay their bills. One in five families went without food for at least one day to pay the costs. No one should be forced to make these impossible choices.

LIHEAP provides a vital safety net for our nation’s low-income households by reducing the percentage of a household’s income spent on residential energy costs. Providing $5.1 billion in regular funds for LIHEAP will help states reach a greater percentage of the more than 34 million eligible households, and provide a greater safety net for those people least able to pay their home heating bills. We urge you to include these much needed funds in the Administration’s FY07 budget proposal.

With respect and appreciation.

Sincerely,