For hardworking Lynn residents, the holidays should be a time to catch up with friends and family.  The toughest choice should be what to get your relatives for Christmas.  And yet, unless Washington does more to help working families and seniors pay for heating, we may be forcing them to choose between buying Christmas dinner and enjoying it in a warm living room.  

Recently, the agency that administers federal heating aid in Lynn held a meeting.  Staff asked everyone in the crowd who wasn’t in imminent danger of losing their heating services to come back a week later—and nobody moved.  They were scared the heating money would run out.  

That’s why Congress passed an additional $250 million for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, commonly known as LIHEAP.

Unfortunately President Bush doesn’t see things the same way.  Thanks to yet another veto from this White House, many senior citizens and working families will be agonizing over how to pay their skyrocketing home heating costs. 

For too many in New England, the situation is becoming dire.  Quite a few are so far behind on their gas and electric payments that the assistance they get this winter will be used to pay off debts from the previous year, according to Beth Hogan, executive director of North Shore Community Action Programs.

Recent reports say that New England consumers will pay up to 22 percent more to heat their homes this winter. But instead of signing our bill to increase funding to keep up with prices, he’s insisting that Congress slash funding for LIHEAP by $379 million.  In the meantime, he’s asking New England families to bundle up and wait in the cold.   

The President’s dangerous disregard for New England’s working families and senior citizens comes at the worst possible time. Home heating fuel prices are up 10 percent from last winter, but New England households will be especially hard hit because we depend more heavily on heating oil, which has gone up in price faster than other heating sources.

Even more alarming, these estimates are based on the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s projection that this winter will be just 4 percent colder than last year. Those of us who remember roses blooming in Boston Common last January fear a far worse outcome. And while a 4 percent colder winter may not sound like a problem, if you spent last winter wrapped in blankets and sleeping by the open door of your oven, if you barely scraped by, it could be catastrophic.

When energy costs rose in 1981, Congress created LIHEAP to help low income families and seniors make ends meet. Now that prices are rising again, it’s up to Washington to help families to bridge the growing gap between stagnant incomes and skyrocketing heating costs. Families aren’t making any more money, so we must grow the program to meet the growing need.

Investing in these programs right now will help families break even on their heating costs, leaving whatever extra funds they scrape up better spent dealing with rising gas prices and healthcare premiums.  We continue to under-fund LIHEAP by $3.1 billion. That’s unconscionable. Instead of forcing states to beg for crumbs in the middle of the winter, we ought to invest the full $5.1 billion required to fully fund LIHEAP.

But even that isn’t enough; we should be creating incentives for families to weatherize their homes. This creates new jobs and saves energy, and a small investment up front can save a family tens or even hundreds of dollars every winter.

Unfortunately, President Bush doesn’t see it that way. Last year, he requested an $80 million cut to the Weatherization Assistance Program. This year, he requested a $60 million cut, then vetoed Congress’ bill. We cannot let this administration block the most efficient way to save families money and fuel this winter.

LIHEAP and Weatherization Assistance funds are desperately needed. These are important, reasonable steps toward making winter heating affordable for the families who need it most - and it is a chance to prevent disaster before it strikes in another tough New England winter.

An old jingle about Lynn says, “Ask for water, they give you a gin.”  You asked for home heating, and all they gave you was a Presidential veto that leaves hardworking families out in the cold.  When Congress returns from Thanksgiving recess, Congress must pass a veto-proof bill to give the people of Lynn the help they need.