[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 161 (Thursday, December 15, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13662-S13663]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BAUCUS:
  S. 2107. A bill to provide additional appropriations for the Low-
Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 for fiscal year 2006 and to 
amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a refundable tax 
credit for residential energy cost assistance, and for other purposes; 
to the Committee on Finance.

[[Page S13663]]

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation to help 
families bear the dramatic increase in cost for home heating bills this 
winter.
  The bill, the Household Energy and Taxpayer Assistance Act of 2005, 
appropriates enough money to fully fund the Low Income Energy 
Assistance Program at its authorized level and provides for a tax 
credit up to $300 per family to offset home heating bills.
  I cannot overstate the urgency of this legislation. This week, 
natural gas prices hit record highs. On the New York Mercantile 
Exchange, January futures rose to $15.78 per million BTUs. Prices have 
more than doubled since last year.
  What does that mean for the consumer?
  The Energy Information Administration predicts that the average 
household heating with natural gas his winter will pay $281 more for 
fuel this winter than they did last winter. That is a 38 percent 
increase. Households using home heating oil can expect to pay $255 
more, and propane users could see a $167 increase.
  Those heating with electricity will likely see a $46 increase in the 
cost to heat a home.
  The bill that I am proposing includes two proposals that Congress 
should enact immediately to mitigate these price spikes for households.
  First and foremost, my legislation fully funds the Federal Low Income 
Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP. Despite projections for 
astronomical energy costs, the conference agreement for the Labor, HHS, 
Education appropriations bill funds this essential home heating program 
at less than 50 percent of its authorized level.
  And today the Senate will be considering that conference report. The 
current funding level for LIHEAP is unacceptable. As energy prices 
continue to skyrocket, we should not be shortchanging this vital 
program.
  In recent years, a growing need for help with home heating bills has 
consistently outstripped available funding, which has remained flat.
  That is why Congress responded by increasing the authorization for 
the program to $5.1 billion in the recently enacted energy bill. But 
Congress hasn't appropriated anywhere near as much for this program as 
it could.
  Current appropriations legislation provides only about $2.2 billion 
in 2006.
  My bill would appropriate an additional $2.9 billion for the LIHEAP 
program. Funding for heating assistance in my home State of Montana 
would be at least $35 million, about $20 million more than last year.
  Montanans and other hard-working families should not have to choose 
between their home energy bills and affording other basic necessities.
  Energy is a basic need, and without LIHEAP assistance, many Montanans 
wouldn't be able to heat their homes. That's why I'm working to help 
ease the burden of high heating costs.
  In addition, this bill establishes a temporary tax credit to help all 
taxpayers to defray a portion of their heating bills this winter. That 
means families can add up their home energy bills, and when tax time 
comes around they can get 20 percent of that expense back, for heating 
fuel or utility costs. That credit will provide as much as $200 for an 
individual or $300 for a family.
  The credit is also refundable. Low-income Americans who don't owe any 
Federal income taxes would still get that rebate against their heating 
bills.
  Americans can't wait until spring for this assistance.
  In its current edition, U.S. News & World Report introduces us to 
Mervalene Eastman, an unemployed woman on the Crow Indian Reservation. 
Month-to-month, $100 jumps in her heating bills last year put her 
behind in her bills. Medical problems forced her to leave her job as an 
emergency dispatcher, and then she lost natural gas service.
  Things are so tough she sometimes needed to use her electric oven for 
heat, especially on cold nights. I am deeply troubled by the thought 
that more Americans will go without heat this winter. I am concerned 
families will face a choice between food on their table or heat during 
the night. They should not have to make that decision. We should pass 
this legislation and give millions of families an early present this 
holiday.
  Now is the time to act, and I urge my colleagues to join me helping 
to provide this much needed relief.
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