[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 142 (Tuesday, November 1, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12124-S12125]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             LIHEAP FUNDING

  Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, when I was governor of Delaware I was 
guided by a principle I learned years ago--if something is worth doing, 
it's worth paying for.
  I served from 1993 to 2001, and we balanced the budget every year I 
was in office.
  The principle of paying for the things that are worth doing is not 
always easy to follow. In fact, sometimes it's quite difficult.
  It's especially difficult when we face the choice of how to fund 
important programs that we know provide vital services.
  The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, LIHEAP, is one of 
these important programs.
  I believe that LIHEAP is worth funding and I think it's worth paying 
for.
  And we need to pay for it because we are now in the unfortunate 
situation of having been saddled with record budget deficits for as far 
as the eye can see.
  Unfortunately, more often than not, the current administration has 
shown us the opposite of good fiscal leadership. Instead of sticking to 
the motto, ``if it's worth doing, it's worth paying for,'' this 
administration has chosen to cut taxes and increase spending more than 
any other administration in the past 30 years. The result: record 
budget deficits and a bleak fiscal outlook.
  This administration has turned the largest budget surplus in history 
into the largest deficits in history.
  It is for these reasons that we must consider how to pay for 
increased funding for this vital program and for others as well.
  The Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations 
Subcommittee took an important step toward providing adequate LIHEAP 
funds by including $2.183 billion in their fiscal year 2006 committee-
reported bill. This represents a small increase over last year's 
funding levels. This is a good starting point.
  However, we know that energy prices are rising and household heating 
bills will rise accordingly this winter. According to the U.S. Energy 
Information Administration, consumers who heat their homes with natural 
gas prices--about 55 percent of U.S. households--are expected to see 
their heating bills rise by 48 percent this winter. Those who heat with 
oil will pay 32 percent more, those who heat with propane will pay 30 
percent more, and those who heat with electricity will pay 5 percent 
more.
  For that reason, I contacted the Appropriations Committee in 
September to express the need for increased funding. I urged that they 
provide $1.276 billion in emergency LIHEAP funding as part of a 
comprehensive supplemental appropriations bill to address Hurricane 
Katrina and the effects it has had on energy production and the cost of 
energy for U.S. consumers. This additional funding would provide an 
approximately 60 percent increase over fiscal year 2005 levels.
  Unfortunately, we have not yet had the opportunity to consider a 
Katrina supplemental and during the week of October 24, 2005 we were 
faced with the choice of how to increase funds for LIHEAP as part of 
the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education appropriations bill.
  I am not comfortable supporting a $3.1 billion increase in LIHEAP 
funding if it is not offset by either a reduction in spending or an 
increase in revenues. I believe that we can increase funds for LIHEAP 
but I also believe that we need to pay for it.
  As a result, I worked with my colleague, Senator Ben Nelson to search 
for ways to achieve enough savings to pay for additional funding for 
the LIHEAP program in fiscal year 2006.
  Senator Nelson and I filed an amendment on October 26, 2005 to 
increase LIHEAP funding by $1.6 billion in fiscal year 2006. This would 
provide a 73 percent increase in funding over fiscal year 2005 levels. 
The increase would be offset with $1.6 billion from three tax 
provisions that either close tax loopholes or clarify and bring greater 
consistency to current law. We believe that these offsets are 
balanced--all three have gained support in the Senate in the past--and 
we believe that our colleagues could support their use as an offset for 
the LIHEAP program.
  I would like to add even more funding to LIHEAP, but with the offsets 
Senator Nelson and I were able to identify, we were able to file an 
amendment that would increase funds by $1.6 billion.
  Unfortunately, we did not have the opportunity to vote on the Carper/
Nelson amendment during consideration of the fiscal year 2006 Labor, 
Health and

[[Page S12125]]

Human Services and Education appropriations bill. I will continue to 
search for ways to increase LIHEAP funding and likewise will continue 
to search for additional offsets to help pay for such an increase.
  I believe in the LIHEAP program; I believe it serves a vital function 
in helping as many as 5 million low-income households who need a bit of 
help paying their energy bills or weatherizing their homes.
  However, I also believe that as Americans, we can and must find ways 
to pay for our priorities. LIHEAP is worth funding, and it's worth 
paying for.

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