[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 58 (Tuesday, April 4, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S2211]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LOW INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I want to express my serious concerns with
the budget for fiscal year 2018 recently proposed by President Trump.
If adopted, this budget would have severe consequences on many
Americans, but I am particularly concerned that it would be low-income
families who are impacted the most. As vice chair of the Senate
Appropriations Committee, I will do everything in my power to make sure
that does not happen.
Among countless examples within a budget that is out of touch and
that will drive more American families into poverty, the President's
proposal to eliminate the Community Service Block Grant, the Low Income
Home Energy Assistance Program, LIHEAP, and the Weatherization
Assistance Program should be concerning to all of us. These are
resources that are essential not only to Vermonters, but to millions of
families throughout the country.
The Community Service Block Grant ensures that low-income families
receive the support they need for basic food and housing assistance,
financial planning tools, and fuel in winter months. LIHEAP and
weatherization services ensure that families do not have to choose
between food and heat. They ensure that families stay safe from harmful
asbestos that may be in the walls of their old Vermont farmhouses or
their inefficient mobile homes. In States like mine, home heating is a
life-and-death matter.
We need to show compassion when drafting our budget and provide
support for those programs that help hard-working families in need. We
must see the faces behind these proposed budget cuts. Vulnerable people
should never be at the whim of politically driven priorities.
We have to do better. I would like to begin by recognizing the crisis
so many families will face in this country without the help of our
community action agencies. Without them, families will go cold. They
will choose not to eat so they can heat their homes. They will deny
themselves healthcare and miss rent payments so that they can stay
warm, so that they can stay alive.
Last month, I had the pleasure of seeing a longtime friend and fellow
Vermonter Jan Demers, who serves as the executive director of the
Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, CVOEO, Vermont's
largest community action agency in Burlington. It was Jan who said it
best, noting that, ``President Trump's budget is like one amputation
after another. Not bringing health to the community but cut after cut--
loss after loss.'' I am proud that CVOEO and the other community action
agencies continue to meet the needs of these families and hope all
Senators will continue to support them as I have during my time in the
Senate.
In recognition of their leadership, I ask unanimous consent that a
statement by Jan Demers be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Good morning, my name is Jan Demers and I am the Executive
Director of the Champlain Valley Office of Economic
Opportunity. On behalf of the more than 23,000 Vermonters
that CVOEO serves: Welcome. We are standing in CVOEOs
Weatherization Warehouse. It is a fitting place to talk about
President Trump's recently released budget. Thank you to
Senator Leahy and your staff for organizing this press
conference and for the leadership you provide for Vermont and
the nation. Thank you to Jonathan Bond and our staff and for
all the Community Action Agencies who carry on this good
work. Thank you to Bobby Arnell, Sean Brown, Sarah Phillips
and to our partners in the State of Vermont who uphold the
values of care and wellness for all Vermonters. And thank you
to Mr. Todd Alexander who typifies the strength of those we
serve.
Community Action Agencies exist to support community well-
being. We make sure that everyone can reach their potential
and fully contribute to the total strength of our
communities.
How does Mr. Trump's budget affect CVOEO? It zeros out the
Community Service Block Grant--$990,687. This is the
foundational grant that undergirds the majority of our
programs. It zeros out the Low Income Home Energy Assistance
Program (LIHEAP) that keeps Vermonters warm in the winter. It
zeros out the Department of Energy's Weatherization Program.
Thankfully the State of Vermont is our main source of
Weatherization funding. However, this will mean that 30
Vermont homes will not be weatherized in our area. Just those
3 cuts amount to a total of $2,056,675.
On top of that there are the cuts to Head Start, Fair
Housing, Housing assistance, Mobile Home, and Voices Against
Violence. There isn't an area, program, staff person or any
of the 23,000 people we served that won't be touched and
experience devastation of services due to this budget.
We have heard over and over that the war on poverty didn't
work. However, when the programs that created the War on
Poverty in 1964 measured the percent of poverty it was at
20%. Seven years later the percentage of poverty was at 11%.
It worked! Then the years of cutting started, cut after cut
was enacted weakening the effort substantially. In 2012 the
measured percent of poverty was 15%. Currently the percentage
of poverty is 13.5%. To me that signifies that the measured
efforts put into place during the Obama years are working.
There isn't a CVOEO Program that isn't decimated by this
budget bringing great loss for the entire population of over
23,000 people that CVOEO served in FY 16. Community Action
Agencies exist to support community well-being. Instead of
health, this budget is like one amputation after another. Not
bringing health to the community but cut after cut--loss
after loss.
Our vision is bridging gaps and building futures for the
people we serve. This budget widens the chasm and diminishes
life.
This cannot be the last word in the Federal budget for FY
18.
Thank you, Senator Leahy for bringing us a better way.
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