[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 21, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H4327-H4328]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      IN SUPPORT OF THE LOW INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

  (Mr. YARMUTH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Low Income 
Home Energy Assistance Program.
  LIHEAP, which provides crucial heating and cooling assistance to 
millions of hardworking, low-income families all across America, grows 
more important as fuel prices continue to skyrocket and we head toward 
another hot summer. Already families who qualify for LIHEAP spend, on 
average, a fifth of their income on energy costs. For hundreds of 
thousands of Americans, that figure will continue to rise until the 
electricity is simply shut off.
  Still, rather than rising to the occasion, this government has backed 
away from our responsibilities to those families. Even as prices soar 
and LIHEAP applicants have increased by 20 percent, the average LIHEAP 
grant has

[[Page H4328]]

dropped by 20 percent, leaving millions without the full assistance to 
which they are entitled and millions more without any help at all.
  In my hometown of Louisville, I hear from people who work hard every 
day with less to show for it. Seniors, who deserve to live out their 
golden years comfortably, now face the choice of paying for medicine, 
food, or energy.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting full funding for this 
crucial program so that millions of LIHEAP-qualifying Americans won't 
be left alone to face potentially life-threatening heat this summer.

                          ____________________