Friday, June 27, 2008                                    

Contact: Andrea Wuebker/Laena Fallon (GREGG)

Barbara Riley/Liz Chamberlain (SUNUNU)

GREGG AND SUNUNU URGE PRESIDENT TO RELEASE REMAINING LIHEAP FUNDS

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Judd Gregg and John Sununu (R-NH) today joined more than 40 of their Senate colleagues in writing to President Bush to urge him to release the remaining $120 million in Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) contingency funds.  Over the past five years, the cost for Granite Staters to heat their homes in the winter has more than tripled, placing increased stress on ever-tightening family budgets; and these costs are again expected to increase for the upcoming winter.  The full text of the letter is included below.

Senator Gregg stated, “Although we in New Hampshire are now enjoying the warm summer months, we know that winter is not far off and with it will come record-high heating oil prices.  Many throughout the Granite State are concerned as the cost for oil continues to reach new highs, causing worry about how folks will afford to heat their homes this winter. Releasing these existing LIHEAP funds will ensure they are put in place for families and individuals who need an extra boost when the oil bill comes in.  Beyond the obvious need for LIHEAP funding, I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress on both sides of the aisle to develop national energy policies which will lower prices by promoting domestic production of American energy, reducing consumption and promoting renewable energy sources, so that families in New Hampshire and throughout America aren’t forced to trim already tight budgets to keep their homes warm and fill their gas tanks.”

Sununu, who has supported LIHEAP since coming to Congress in 1997,  said, “As gas and oil prices soar, many New Hampshire families are rightfully worried about heating their homes for the coming winter, while many are threatened with utility shutoffs from last winter’s high energy costs.  The immediate release of the remaining $120 million in LIHEAP contingency funding is needed to help the Granite State and other states that rely heavily on oil as a heating source. Citizens across the state can be assured that I remain committed to increasing LIHEAP funding to help struggling individuals and families handle their heating bills.  In the meantime, the release of this money would provide relief to those in need, and I will push for additional funding for this year and next."

June 27, 2008

The President

The White House

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

            We are writing to urge you to immediately release the remaining $120 million in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) contingency fund to address the needs of families and seniors across the nation.  Due to the urgency of this crisis, we request that you release funds in no less than two weeks of today’s date.

In some areas of the country, many families are still reeling from the high energy prices from this past winter. In other areas of the country, we have already seen hotter than normal temperatures.  For low-income households, LIHEAP is an important safety net and will save many from making the tough choice between paying their energy bill or putting food on the table.

            As you release contingency funds, we urge you to consider several factors: the threat of utility shutoffs for millions of households, families trying to pre-buy energy for the coming winter, continued high energy costs and the lack of leveraging money this year that states were counting on.

Record high energy costs have resulted in record numbers of households facing utility disconnection.  The National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA) estimates that more than 15.6 million households face utility shutoffs because they cannot pay their energy bills.  Shutoff moratoria have run out in the states that have them.  Many families are already experiencing this difficult situation and many more will face this prospect without additional LIHEAP funding.

Additionally, families in cold weather states who were able to pay this winter’s bill are already preparing for next winter and are finding the costs of home heating to be out of reach.  In its most recent Short-Term Energy Outlook, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicted that the cost of home heating oil will increase more than 41 percent from the 4th quarter of 2007 to the 4th quarter of 2008.  This increase comes on top of the 162 percent increase in heating oil prices that occurred between January 2000 and March 2008.  Recognizing that prices will continue to rise, many families are trying to be prudent by locking in lower fuel prices.  Even now they cannot afford payments.  If prices escalate during the winter, the burden will be even greater.  An influx of LIHEAP money now will help those families plan ahead and be a more efficient use of federal funds.

In the immediate term, already-high energy costs are putting upward pressure on energy rates.    Many utility companies have already or will soon increase their rates.  In Virginia, Dominion Power has applied to raise rates 18 percent; in Missouri, AmerenUE asked for a 12.1 percent increase; in Oklahoma, Public Service Co. implemented a 25 percent increase on June 1; and in New York City, Con Edison expects a 13 percent increase this summer on the heels of a 4.7 percent rate increase in April.

Finally, we encourage you to consider assistance to states that were expecting – but will not receive – funding this fiscal year under the LIHEAP Leveraging Incentive Program.  This program rewards states for supplementing their federal LIHEAP dollars through acquiring non-federal funds.  However, the Department of Health and Human Services determined that the FY2008 Omnibus Appropriations Act (P.L. 110-161) did not authorize them to distribute leveraging grants.  Unfortunately, HHS failed to provide adequate notice of this determination to states.  As a result, states that planned for this money in their budget will be forced to serve fewer households at this critical time.

For all these reasons, we believe that it is of utmost importance that you release all contingency funds now.  Approximately $100 million of the fund will expire at the end of the fiscal year.  The other $20 million in the contingency fund – left over from a FY2005 appropriations bill (P.L. 108-447) – does not expire, but we urge you to release it as well, given the clear need.

Thank you for your consideration of this vital issue.