[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 200 (Friday, December 15, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S18699-S18700]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             LIHEAP PROVISIONS IN THE CONTINUING RESOLUTION

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, one of the most serious defects of the 
current stop-gap funding bill for the Federal Government is its 
treatment of LIHEAP, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program that 
helps needy families pay their winter fuel bills.
  Under that program, States receive most of their full-year LIHEAP 
allocation in the 2 months of October and November so that they can 
prepare for the winter, set benefit levels, and deal with emergencies.
  It's bad enough that the current stop-gap bill cuts these needed 
funds by 25 percent from last year's level. Even worse, it pays out 
those funds on a basis that is prorated on a full year, so that States 
are receiving far less than the usual share in October and November to 
plan for the winter.
  By this time last year, Massachusetts had received $32 million of its 
annual $54 million allocation. This year, however, Massachusetts has 
only been allowed to draw down $9.5 million.
  In fact, all States had received $800 million of last year's $1.3 
billion LIHEAP appropriation by December 15 of last year. Under the 
stop-gap bill, however, that level has dropped to only $230 million--a 
71 percent cut--even though the bill is supposed to impose only a 25 
percent cut at most.
  States have found it extremely difficult to serve their needy 
citizens without access to these up-front funds. In fact, many States 
have had to establish triage policies to meet only the most dire 
emergencies.
  Massachusetts energy agencies have said that they will respond only 
to cases where a utility terminates services, or where homes have less 
than one eight of a tank of fuel oil. The State has cut annual LIHEAP 
benefits from $430 to $150 per household to ensure that they have 
enough funds for emergencies throughout the winter.
  In Gloucester, the agencies have been faced with a choice of spending 
nonauthorized LIHEAP funds or letting some families freeze to death.
  In Salem, the local government has dipped into its own scarce funds 
to provide needed assistance.
  In Springfield, Patricia Nelligan, the fuel assistance director for 
the New England Farm Workers' Council, said that unless more LIHEAP 
funds are made available soon, their program will have to shut down by 
the end of next week.
  It may not officially be winter yet, but winter has already arrived 
with a vengeance in many parts of the country. For the 6 million 
recipients of LIHEAP assistance across the Nation, it will be a 
desperate Christmas unless more aid is available.
  Ninty five percent of the households receiving LIHEAP assistance have 
annual incomes below $18,000. They spend an extremely burdensome 18 
percent of their income on energy, compared to the average middle-class 
family, which spends only 4 percent.
  Researchers at Boston City Hospital have documented the heat or eat 
effect, where higher utility bills during the coldest months force low-
income families to spend less money on food. The result is increased 
malnutrition among children.
  We had a very interesting hearing the other day about the impact of a 
series of cuts on children. The most moving part of the testimony was 
some of the schoolteachers who talked about the fact of the loss of 
weight that is taking place with small children 7, 8, 9, 10-years-old 
during the wintertime and particularly during the coldest months. It is 
really unthinkable that that would happen here in America, but yet it 
does. We have an opportunity to do something about that hopefully this 
afternoon.
  The study also found almost twice as many low-weight and 
undernourished children were admitted to Boston City Hospital's 
emergency room immediately following the coldest month of the winter. 
No family should have to choose between heating and eating.
  But it is the poor elderly that will be at the greatest risk if more 
LIHEAP funds are not made available, because they are the most 
vulnerable to hypothermia. In fact, older Americans accounted for more 
than half of all hypothermia deaths in 1991.
  In addition, the elderly are much more likely to live in homes built 
before 1940 which are less energy efficient and put them at greater 
risk.
  Low-income elderly who have trouble paying their fuel bills are often 
driven to rely on room heaters, fireplaces, ovens, and wood-burning 
stoves to save money. Between 1986 and 1990, such heating sources were 
the second leading cause of fire deaths among the elderly. In fact, 
elderly citizens were up to 12 times more likely to die in heating-
related fires than adults under 65.
  Over 50 Senators have signed a letter urging the budget negotiators 
to allow States to draw down LIHEAP funds at the up-front rate if a 
further stopgap funding bill is enacted. I urge the Senate to support 
this provision, so that families can receive the urgent assistance they 
need.
  Christmas is approaching, and in many parts of the country, 
temperatures have dropped to levels close to those at the North Pole. 
But Santa Claus does not release LIHEAP funds to the States--Congress 
does, and we must act quickly to avoid tragedy.
  Let me summarize, Mr. President. This is not a question of increasing 
the fiscal year 1996 appropriation for the LIHEAP Program, although I 
hope that the program will be fully funded in the next budget 
resolution.
  What's at stake is the State's access to the LIHEAP funds that are 
already available so that the elderly, disabled, working poor, and 
their children can be served before the temperature drops even further.
  That is not a heavy lift for Congress. Over half of the U.S. Senate 
signed a letter urging that States be allowed to draw down LIHEAP funds 
at the normal rate.
  In October, 180 House Members signed a letter circulated by 
Representative Joe Moakley which requested that LIHEAP be funded at the 
level proposed in the Senate version of the Labor-HHS appropriations 
bill--$900 million.

[[Page S18700]]

  In Massachusetts last winter, 42,000 out of the State's 137,000 
LIHEAP households were elderly; 30,000 of the households also received 
supplementary security income; 32,000 of the households were working-
poor; 69,000 of the households received food stamps; 50,000 of the 
households received Social Security; and 45,000 of the households 
received Aid to Families with Dependent Children.
  Cold weather does not play partisan politics. When the temperature 
drops, it affects all people--Democrats and Republicans, Northerners 
and Southerners alike. It does not discriminate--it is an equal 
opportunity discomfort.
  Mr. President, if we have an opportunity for the continuing 
resolution this afternoon, I know that Senator Wellstone will offer an 
amendment to permit the expenditure of vitally needed funds to be 
available to those 6 million Americans who today are in very difficult, 
dire circumstances because of the cold snap. If it is not, I join with 
those who urge the President to use his Executive powers to be able to 
move ahead with front end funding of those funds in an orderly way. 
Clearly, the overwhelming sense of the Members of this body and of the 
House of Representatives is that of supporting getting these scarce 
resources out to the public. It will make absolutely no sense because 
of a technicality to restrict the flow of these funds over a 12-month 
period when the greatest need is now during the wintertime and where it 
has been the wintertime since the establishment of this program, but 
because of a technical glitch we find ourselves under these 
circumstances. This circumstance cries out for action.
  So, Mr. President, I know I speak for all the families in 
Massachusetts that are dependent upon LIHEAP. They are facing a 
critical situation. We cannot let this situation continue to go without 
action here in the House of Representatives and the Senate. We have 
serious business obviously in terms of the budget and the budget 
positions in terms of preserving Medicare and Medicaid and education 
and environmental issues, but this is an emergency situation that cries 
out for action. Whatever we are going to do on the budget will not be 
affected if we move ahead with advance funding to take care of the 
emergency needs of our elderly. It will not be affected. So we have to 
take this action, and we welcome the bipartisan support that we have 
received here. It has been bipartisan in the Senate. It has been 
bipartisan in the House. And I am pleased that the President has 
indicated his strong support for getting this problem resolved.

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