[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 202 (Sunday, December 17, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S18790]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 LIHEAP

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I was pleased to learn earlier this 
afternoon that President Clinton plans to act tomorrow, Monday, to 
release $578 million in Federal funds for the Low-Income Home Energy 
Assistance Program, known as LIHEAP. The President's action will make 
$22.89 million available to Massachusetts immediately.
  As we all know, the availability of LIHEAP funds had been drastically 
restricted under the two stopgap funding bills passed by Congress since 
the end of September. With the expiration of the latest stopgap bill at 
midnight last Friday. President Clinton is free to release the funds 
and will do so tomorrow.
  So this means Christmas will be arriving a week early for the 137,000 
low-income families in communities across Massachusetts who rely on 
Federal energy assistance to keep their homes warm in winter weather. 
President Clinton deserves great credit for taking advantage of this 
window of opportunity to release these urgently needed funds.
  In recent weeks, with cold weather already hitting Massachusetts and 
many States hard, we have been urging Congress and the administration 
to find a way to end the unfortunate and irresponsible impasse over 
LIHEAP funding and enable the assistance to start flowing to low-income 
families facing large heating bills.
  By this time last year, Massachusetts had received about $32 million 
in LIHEAP funds. So far this year, only $9.6 million has been received 
because of the restrictions in the stopgap funding bills. Under 
President Clinton's action, this year's LIHEAP funding will be on a par 
with last year's, and families will be getting the relief they need and 
deserve.

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