[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Page 20112]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                 LIHEAP

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I am here today to talk about the 
importance of sustained funding and support for the Low-Income Home 
Energy Assistance Program, better known as LIHEAP. I know it is 
something my colleague, the Presiding Officer, cares very much about as 
well.
  LIHEAP helps households pay home heating costs and targets funds for 
those families with the lowest incomes and the highest energy costs. In 
2010, nearly 165,000 families in Minnesota used this critical lifeline.
  As the Presiding Officer knows, our home State may be known as the 
land of ice hockey and ice fishing and other winter sports, but our 
tough winters can be downright dangerous to families struggling to pay 
their utility bills and trying to keep the heat on.
  Even as Minnesota's economy has weathered the recession better than 
most, we have seen a great increase in need for assistance with heating 
bills. From 2008 to 2010, there was a 30-percent increase in families 
who needed energy assistance. Without sustained funding for LIHEAP at 
current levels, we risk pushing these 38,000 families out into the 
cold.
  This October, I joined with Members from many cold weather States, as 
my colleague did, in a letter that urged the Department of Health and 
Human Services to release LIHEAP funds as quickly and at as high a 
level as possible. We must follow up on this action by fully funding 
LIHEAP.
  On October 28, the Department of Health and Human Services released 
$1.7 billion for LIHEAP. This is a start, but we need another $3 
billion to ensure we sustain level funding from last year. Depending on 
how and what the final appropriations are for fiscal year 2012, it is 
important to recognize we will need over $1 billion to fully fund 
LIHEAP.
  I believe seniors should not have to choose between paying for 
medication and their heating bills; that families should not have to 
choose between putting food on the table or keeping their furnaces on 
at night, and children should always have a warm home to sleep in at 
night. LIHEAP is targeting those families who are most in need. In 
fact, the average household served by LIHEAP in Minnesota had an income 
of $16,000, and 85 percent of the homes served by LIHEAP included at 
least one senior, a person with a disability, or a child under the age 
of 18. These families are struggling. Now is not the time to pull the 
rug out from under their feet.
  LIHEAP is supported by nonprofit organizations such as Community 
Action of Minneapolis, the Salvation Army, State and local governments, 
and utility companies. These organizations know the value this program 
has to ensure that families have the tools they need to stay safe 
during the coldest winter nights. They also see how it creates economic 
activity by maintaining demand for utilities when household budgets are 
under the greatest strain and may be forced to go without.
  According to economists, LIHEAP is a smart investment. For every 
dollar in benefits paid, $1.13 is generated in economic activity. As a 
cosponsor of the LIHEAP Protection Act, introduced by Senator Jack Reed 
of Rhode Island, I want to commend my colleagues on their leadership on 
this issue, and I look forward to working with them to ensure this 
legislation is passed and that funding for the critical program is 
maintained.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.

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