[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 26 (Thursday, February 17, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E253]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             FULL-YEAR CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2011

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                               speech of

                         HON. JAMES P. McGOVERN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 16, 2011

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1) making 
     appropriations for the Department of Defense and the other 
     departments and agencies of the Government for the fiscal 
     year ending September 30, 2011, and for other purposes:

  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Chair, I rise today in strong opposition to any 
cuts to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, in 
this misguided Republican CR.
  Mr. Chair, cutting LIHEAP would literally leave thousands of families 
and seniors in the cold.
  My constituents in the 3rd congressional district and people across 
the country, are experiencing one of the coldest winters on record.
  The number of households served by LIHEAP has skyrocketed in recent 
years, jumping from 5.8 million in fiscal year 2008 to a projected 8.9 
million in fiscal year 2011.
  In just this year alone, Massachusetts expects to see a 21 percent 
increase in the number of eligible applications.
  And, to make matters worse, the cost of home heating oil continues to 
go up this winter. Since November, the cost of heating oil has gone 
from $3.11 to $3.58 a gallon.
  This means that the average family living in New England is now 
paying about $30 more for home heating than they initially expected at 
the start of this winter.
  It is unconscionable that we would even consider cutting heating 
assistance at a time like this.
  My Republican colleagues seem to have no problem supporting tax 
breaks for millionaires and billionaires but, when it comes to families 
and seniors struggling to heat their homes, they have no problem saying 
``so be it.''
  I understand that we need to reduce our deficit and long-term debt 
but doing so by literally leaving thousands of Americans out in the 
cold is exactly the wrong approach.
  Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose cuts to LIHEAP and oppose 
this CR.

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