[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 96 (Friday, July 17, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1338]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     INTRODUCTION OF THE LOW INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM 
                           AMENDMENTS OF 1998

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM F. GOODLING

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 17, 1998

  Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation that 
will reauthorize the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act through the 
year 2001. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) 
provides heating and cooling assistance to almost 5 million low-income 
households each year, over 330,000 of which are in my home State of 
Pennsylvania.
  Individuals and families receiving this vital assistance include the 
working poor, individuals making the transition from welfare to work, 
individuals with disabilities, the elderly, and families with young 
children. In fact, nearly 70 percent of families receiving LIHEAP 
assistance last year survived on a an annual income of less than 
$8,000, spending 18.5 percent of their annual household income on 
energy costs.
  While States, local government, and the private sector have 
demonstrated their willingness to develop creative and effective 
programs to address energy assistance needs, it has been determined 
that these programs alone cannot meet the significant energy needs of 
low income families in our nation. LIHEAP has proved that a successful 
relationship between government, business, gas and electric utilities, 
and community-based organizations can and does work.
  In addition to the basic energy assistance program, this legislation 
also extends the authorization for emergency energy assistance, home 
weatherization, the leveraging incentive program, and the Residential 
Energy Assistance Challenge Option (REACH). In order to find out more 
about how the REACH program is working, we ask the Comptroller General 
to conduct a study within the next two years on the effectiveness of 
this program. We also try to better define natural disasters and 
emergencies in the bill to speed assistance to individuals in the case 
of natural disasters and energy emergencies under the emergency energy 
assistance provisions of the Act.
  Mr. Speaker, the Committee on Education and the Workforce plans to 
consider the LIHEAP program in the coming days. I invite Members of the 
House to join us in support of reauthorization of this important 
program.

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