[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 200 (Friday, December 15, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S18695-S18697]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      LOW-INCOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, yesterday I came out on the floor to 
speak about the energy assistance program. I need not repeat most of 
what I said, yesterday. But I thought I would try to be brief and 
summarize.
  Mr. President, I am a Senator from a cold-weather State, Minnesota. 
By cold-degree days, we have the third coldest days in the country 
behind Alaska and North Dakota. Last year in my State about 330,000 
people received some energy assistance so that they would not go cold. 
Many of them were elderly households, many of them were households with 
children, and many of them were households with minimum wage workers 
with an average rent of around $350. Let us think about this as a kind 
of cold weather lifeline program, almost more of a survival supplement 
than an income supplement, designed to ensure that people will not go 
cold.
  Mr. President, right now as I speak on the floor of the U.S. Senate, 
in my State of Minnesota, without exaggeration I can say that there are 
some people with no heat with the temperatures around zero. Last 
weekend when Sheila and I were home the temperature was about 50 below 
wind chill. There are people in the United States of America, in my 
State, and in other cold-weather States as well, I am sure, Mr. 
President, who are now living in one room. That is all they are able to 
heat--one room. There are some people with no oil or propane in their 
tank. Mr. President, there are some Minnesotans who are trying to heat 
their home by just turning on their oven. There are also people in my 
State--I am joined by my colleague from Iowa--who right now are not 
able to purchase the food they need or the prescription drugs they need 
because of the money they are now spending for energy maintenance to 
make sure they do not go cold, because they have such limited means.
  In the United States of America right now, in Minnesota, Iowa, and 
other cold-weather States, there are people who are cold, and I am 
positive, I am positive as I speak here today, that somebody will 
freeze to death and then we will take action. It will be too late.
  Mr. President, this is the problem. Last year, by the end of 
December, about $1 billion had been allocated out to our States for 
assistance. This is not a 1-year program. It does not do any good to 
tell people they will be able to receive some assistance so they do not 
get cold in June or July. Time is not neutral. The total cost of the 
energy assistance program nationally was less than one B-2 bomber. It 
was $1.3 billion last year, $900 million right now. This is the 
problem. It was eliminated on the House side. But Senator Daschle--and, 
I might add, other Senators as well, Republicans included, Senator 
Specter being one really good example, and I know Senator Hatfield 
cares fiercely about this, and I could list others as well; Senator 
Smith from New Hampshire--many people, many from the cold-weather 
States. We know now what has happened. It has become a moral issue.
  Last year by the end of December, about $1 billion had gone out, and 
I think this year about $230 million has gone out nationwide. In my 
State of Minnesota, by this time last year, about $25 million--right 
now, $9 million. We have long waiting lists of people who have no 
assistance or people who have received only $100 when last year they 
received $350. What is going to happen to them next month or the month 
afterwards?
  So, Mr. President, I will yield in just a moment for a question from 
my colleague. I just want to make it clear where we are right now. It 
is extremely important that if there is a continuing resolution--and 
there should be because there should not be any Government shutdown--it 
is extremely important that we have the language to accelerate the 
allocation of this money.
  If you did just 75 percent of last year, I say to my colleague, that 
would be over $900 million. We must get this out to our States now so 
people do not freeze to death. There cannot be one Senator or 
Representative, regardless of party, that could really disagree with 
this proposition. If this does not happen, Mr. President, with the 
wording of the continuing resolution at the end of this week, it has to 
happen at the beginning of next week. And if there is no continuing 
resolution, I would say to the administration you have the authority 
because we already have the money. This is forward funded. We already 
have the money. You have the authority to release that money.
  However we get the job done, for God's sake, let us get the job done. 
That is really what I am saying.
  I feel very strongly about any issue, not because I believe this is 
the only issue that our country is confronted with, not because I do 
not fully appreciate the overall budget debate and the difficult 
choices that all of us have to make, not because I do not care fiercely 
about what will happen in Bosnia and for the safety of our soldiers and 
that they will be able to make a difference there. Sometimes, in all 
these statistics and all this alphabet soup, OMB, CBO, baseline 
budget--you are familiar with what I am talking about--it is just 
disconnected from the reality of people's lives.
  This is such a time. I am a Senator from a cold-weather State, 
Minnesota, and I will do whatever I need to do as a Senator to get the 
funding out to my State, and for that matter other cold-weather States, 
so that people, be they seniors, be they children, be they individuals 
with disabilities, or be they low-wage families, are able to get some 
assistance so they can heat their homes now.

  Right now, too many of our citizens are cold. Too many of our 
citizens are without heat. This is wrong. This is a moral issue. We 
must do something about this, and it is within our power to do 
something about this today. We have to take action.
  I know the Senator from Iowa had a question.
  Mr. HARKIN. I just wondered if the Senator will yield.
  First of all, Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Minnesota for 
being a leader on this issue. Both the other day when he took the floor 
and he spoke about it and again today--I did not catch all of the 
Senator's remarks; I was on my way over to the floor, but I wanted to 
just ask the Senator if he was aware of all of the ramifications in the 
States that are taking place right now. I know the Senator spoke very 
eloquently about what is happening in Minnesota and the fact that this 
money is not getting out. But there are some really kind of 
disingenuous things going on out there. If the Senator will bear with 
me, I will explain it and then I will follow it with a question.
  I am told that in some States in the Midwest, because of the fact 
that they do not have the necessary funds for the heating program, the 
Low-Income Heating Energy Assistance Program, they put the word out 
that they have just enough money to meet emergency situations, that it 
is being interpreted in some States as saying an emergency is if an 
elderly person has been notified by the utility that they are cutting 
off the utilities. That is the emergency. If you get your utility cut 
off, then you get it.
  I ask the Senator, take a typical elderly person in Minnesota or 
Iowa, from the Midwest, it is colder than the dickens. They are living 
in a small town of 900 people, 1,000 people like the small towns where 
I come from. They are living in a small house--usually it 

[[Page S18696]]
is women--living by themselves, on Social Security; their total income 
is 400 or 500 bucks a month.
  I wish to point out that 80 percent, 80 percent of this money in the 
Low-Income Heating Energy Assistance Program, 80 percent of the money 
goes to people with less than $8,000 a year income. I ask the Senator 
to take an elderly person--as I said, many times an elderly woman--
living by themselves in a small house in a small town. The heating bill 
comes in. They know they have to pay it. Would they just say, well, I 
am not going to pay it because then it will be a crisis and then I will 
get the money? What would that elderly person do?
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I say to my colleague--and by the way, 
I would like to thank the Chair. Quite often we are speaking on the 
floor, and the Presiding Officer is writing letters and not paying 
attention. He comes from a more warm-weather State. I thank him for his 
courtesy.
  I would say to my colleague from Iowa, we are getting all of these 
calls from elderly people, and I will tell you exactly what they do, 
and then I would like to compare notes with the Senator and get his 
reaction.
  What will happen, under that definition, it will not happen that 
elderly person will not pay his or her bill, but they will not purchase 
the prescription drugs they will need that the doctor prescribed or 
they will simply have less money for food. It is that simple. And by 
the way, during the winter is not a time when you want to have less 
income to be able to have a decent diet.
  That is exactly what is going on, I say to my colleague.
  Mr. HARKIN. I think the Senator is correct. I think that is what is 
going to happen out there. So you may say, well, gee, you know, they 
are not in crisis circumstances; they are getting their fuel, they are 
paying their bills, but what is happening on the other side of the 
ledger? This is a crisis situation in my State, and I know it is in 
Minnesota.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. It is.
  Mr. HARKIN. I share the Senator's concern about this. We do have the 
opportunity, as the Senator pointed out. Now, again, for my benefit and 
for others, would the Senator explain it. We forward funded this, $1.3 
billion.
  Obviously that money has already been appropriated.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. That is correct.
  Mr. HARKIN. I was on the Appropriations Committee. That money has 
been appropriated. So why is it not going out? If we already 
appropriated the money, why is it not going out?
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Well, Mr. President, I would say to my colleague that 
what has happened is by the terms of these continuing resolutions, the 
money cannot be appropriated right now by the administration. And that 
is what I was trying to explain earlier.
  Right now we have a couple of different scenarios that are possible. 
First, I want to say to my colleague--he may or may not realize this--
in the first draft of the continuing resolution from the House of 
Representatives, zero came out for LIHEAP for this year. There was 
actually language that said that no LIHEAP money could be spent, no 
energy assistance money could be spent, until the Labor-Health and 
Human Services appropriations bill of this year was passed. This would 
have effectively guaranteed that there would be no money going out.
  We saw that and we said that if that came to the floor, we would 
amend it. And it was ultimately amended. With the support of the White 
House and others, that was dropped. But my understanding, I say to my 
colleague, is right now by the terms of the continuing resolution that 
we are under, that money cannot be spent. The only money that could be 
spent has been spent--about $230 million.
  One of two things has to happen. If we get a continuing resolution, 
we have to have language which essentially says that we have to 
accelerate the allocation of this money which exists. Even if it was 75 
percent of last year's level, that would be over $900 million, which we 
need to get out. But if there is no continuing resolution, I say to my 
colleague, the administration then has the legal authority--and we were 
in touch with legal counsel at OMB to confirm this--they could release 
the money.
  Mr. HARKIN. Let me get this clear from the Senator. If a continuing 
resolution--that expires today. I do not know what time it expires.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Midnight.
  Mr. HARKIN. Midnight tonight. If there is no continuing resolution, 
then tomorrow the administration could release the remainder of the 
money that was appropriated last year for this program?
  Mr. WELLSTONE. That is absolutely correct. And we have urged the 
administration to do that, absolutely.
  Mr. HARKIN. I want to join the Senator in making that request. I do 
not know if there will be a continuing resolution today or not. Who 
knows. I know they are negotiating right now.
  Let me further ask the Senator, if a continuing resolution comes to 
the floor today, let us say for a short period of time, a 3-day--I 
heard some talk about a 3-day, 4-day continuing resolution.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Right.
  Mr. HARKIN. Is that amendable? Could an amendment be offered on that?
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I would say to my colleague and good 
friend from Iowa, absolutely. Here is what we do not know. My hope is 
that since this continuing resolution would originate from the House, 
that on the House side they would have put into the resolution the 
language, the authority, for us to go forward with accelerated funding 
right now.
  There are many Representatives, Democrats and Republicans, who are 
very uncomfortable with where we are at in this Nation. Thank God they 
are. There are people who feel--they are saying, ``Look. We don't just 
want to be here while people go cold.'' All right.
  So my hope would be that you would have a resolution that would come 
over here with a formula that would allocate the funds that we need to 
get out to the States so people do not go cold. People are cold now.
  If that does not happen, then certainly we can amend that. That is 
one possibility, we can amend that, and we would insert wording that 
would make sure that we would get the allocation of funding out. We 
could do that. I say to my colleague that that is a possibility.
  Now, if it was for 2 days, over the weekend, then another 
possibility--though we have to see--would be, depending upon 
commitments that are made, that it would be done in the beginning of 
next week.
  But we have to get it done. Right now I feel very strongly we have to 
get it done today. We have to do everything we can to make sure that we 
get this funding out to families in our States so people do not go cold 
through a continuing resolution today or through a continuing 
resolution Monday or through the administration, if there is no 
continuing resolution, releasing the funds. It has to happen.
  It makes very little difference to the people out in our States who 
are cold, who are really frightened, many of whom are desperate, what 
way the funding gets to them and what way they get the energy 
assistance. We can do it a number of different ways. But I have gone on 
record all week saying--I believe we have some amendments that we 
drafted to this continuing resolution. I certainly know my colleague 
from Iowa will be with me. If that is what we need to do, that is what 
we will do. If we can do it another way, we will do it another way.
  Mr. HARKIN. I thank the Senator for bringing this out and answering 
those questions. And I look forward to working with him. The Senator is 
absolutely right, Mr. President, we have a crisis situation out there. 
We hear all the talk about shutting down the Government and the impact 
this would have on people who work and, with the Christmas season 
coming up, what it might mean for their families. And we ought to be 
cognizant of that. I hope there is not a shutdown of the Government. I 
hope that does not happen.
  But for many of these elderly people--and we are talking about 
elderly people on Social Security, making $400 a month, $500, a lot of 
times living by themselves--when you do not get that Low-Income Heating 
Energy Assistance Program, that is more than the equivalent of a 
Government person losing their job for a few days. It could, indeed, be 
a very bleak Christmas for a lot of these people out there, too.
  So I am sorry this has gone on this long. I guess we hoped against 
hope 

[[Page S18697]]
there would be warm weather. But we have had some really bad weather, 
really cold.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. I say to my colleague, Mr. President, that the other 
problem that my chief legislative analyst, Colin McGinnis, reminded me 
of is it takes about 10 days or so for OMB and HHS to run the computer 
formulas, cut the checks, and get the money out to the States. We have 
a long waiting list in Minnesota already who would be served by that 
funding.
  So we really are again--time is not neutral. For God's sake, I would 
say to every single one of my colleagues, Democrat, Republican, let us 
do this before Hanukkah. Hanukkah is Sunday night. I am Jewish. 
Hanukkah is Sunday night. Then we have Christmas. Let us do this before 
Hanukkah. Let us do this before Christmas. Let us please make a 
commitment as Senators to make sure that people at least do not go cold 
in America. This is wrong. We can do much better.
  There is no reason in the world for us not to be able to reach out. I 
mean, if you want to talk about family values, I think the most 
important family value there is is to reach out with a helping hand. I 
think everybody agrees with that. So we have to get this job done.
  I thank my colleague. I thank my colleague from Iowa.
  Mr. President, I am just going to finish up. This just is one 
example. I have many examples from Minnesota, but this is an example of 
what can happen when people are without heat, from right here in the 
District of Columbia. Three years ago around this time, a fire burned 
down a small apartment building in the Mount Pleasant region of the 
District of Columbia, burning to death two little girls, Amber and Asia 
Spencer, ages 6 and 5. The girls were killed by a fire when one of the 
candles that was used to heat the apartment fell over. The electricity 
had been turned off 2 months earlier when the girl's grandmother, their 
guardian, could not afford to pay the heating bill.
  It is my understanding that every winter, children across the country 
are killed or injured by fires caused by desperate attempts to keep 
warm--to keep warm.
  I have said to my leader, Senator Daschle, I have said to the 
Republicans--again, I know Senator Smith from New Hampshire, another 
cold weather State, said he really wants to be on the floor, wants to 
fight hard for this; Senator Abraham has been very committed to this; 
Senator Specter has been very committed to this; Senator Jeffords and 
any number of Republicans on the other side of the aisle.
  I do not view this as a partisan issue. I think it was a huge mistake 
for the House to eliminate this. I have been fighting for this for 6 
months because I know it is so important to people.
  But I think right now the issue is not to have a fight. That is not 
the point. The point is to bring people together and to at least make 
the small change. We already have the money. It is already there. All 
we have to do is make sure that in a continuing resolution, if the 
Government is not shut down--and I hope it will not be shut down; I do 
not think it should be--to make sure in the continuing resolution that 
we are able to allocate the funds out to the States.
  If we just do it on the basis of 75 percent of last year, Mr. 
President, so that now as the winter weather is upon us in our States, 
then we could get adequate short-term funds out fast. It can be 
allocated out to the communities and we can protect people. We should 
do that.

  I yield the floor.
  Mr. LEAHY addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, will the Senator yield for a moment?
  Mr. LEAHY. Yes.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I want to make it clear, I mentioned 
the other day the work of the Senator from Vermont. He has spoken on 
this several times. I want to thank the Senator and Senator Jeffords as 
well. I believe that those of us from cold-weather States know what 
this means in human terms. We know from the phone calls and the people 
with whom we visit.
  I thank the Chair and the Senator from Vermont.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.

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