[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 14 (Tuesday, February 15, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H418]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HEATING OIL CRISIS IN NEW YORK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I simply want to bring to the attention 
of Congress the situation of the people that I represent in Monroe 
County, New York. Some of them are up there now trying to shovel snow 
off their roofs. We have the dubious distinction this year of having 
had more snow than anyplace in the United States, a distinction that we 
really prefer go to Buffalo or Oswego.
  I have an extraordinary number of retired persons as well. In 
addition to the high cost of prescription drugs, they are now being 
forced to decide whether they will eat or pay the soaring home heating 
costs.

                              {time}  1630

  The families have seen the price of home heating oil rise on an 
hourly basis. There has been no way to understand it, to plan for it, 
or to budget for it. They are upset, and those who are on low and fixed 
incomes are having to choose again between everything else that they do 
and heating their homes, which really is not a choice. With the 
temperatures that we have had this January and February, we have had 
over 21 days of straight snow this year. There is no option but not to 
freeze to death.
  We have had numbers of truckers who have called us and told us that 
the extraordinary high rise in diesel fuel, over $2 a gallon an 
increase, has made it impossible for many of them even to continue to 
run their rigs and they have put them aside until, as Washington says, 
help is on the way.
  I understand what the President said that once this cold snap is 
over, that we hope that the prices will go down, but in the meantime, I 
have people who are in severe crisis. I am happy that there is going to 
be a summit tomorrow on this, but I frankly think that the cautious 
approach that the White House is taking is too little and too late.
  We know that actions will speak louder than words. It is really 
critical that this year, because this is a debate, as my colleagues 
have pointed out, that we have year after year, that we do something 
about it to take care of these permanent needs that the Northeast has 
for heating assistance. I have joined on to legislation that I hope 
will do just that this year.
  We hate to come every year and talk about how our people again are 
freezing to death, although I think we are really quite generous in 
helping when other Members of Congress come to the floor with problems 
in their district that nature has given to them. But it is really 
important that we do something about this this time.
  Mr. Speaker, I am not sure why the prices have risen. I agree with 
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley) who spoke previously that it 
needs a good investigation to make sure that at this time when 
temperatures are low that these costs are not deliberate. It is very 
important that we look at that.
  In the meantime, I would like to urge the President and the Secretary 
of Energy to really include the action right now of releasing some oil 
from the strategic petroleum reserve. We must, as I said before, start 
a home-heating oil reserve in the Northeast so that we can have a long-
term solution to this crisis.
  One solution may be, as many speakers before me have pointed out, and 
I know that the President had brought up one year, is that why should 
LIHEAP money, which is really used for low-income heating, be sent 
throughout the 50 States and the territories. Might it not be more 
important that we send it to places where it is needed, and I would 
like to have that looked into as well. But action and not delay is 
needed now.
  So, on behalf of all of my constituents today who are out trying to 
shovel off the roof, to make sure that the pipes are not frozen, 
keeping the heat in the house as low as they can so that they can 
afford to eat, I want to say to my colleagues and to everyone in this 
Congress that Mother Nature waits on no one and that quick action is 
needed for the people of the Northeast.

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