[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5382]
[From the U.S. 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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