Tsongas Praises Inclusion of Funding for Low Income Heating Assistance

Massachusetts Eligible to Receive More Than $160 Million as part of Legislation to Fund Government into FY09

WASHINGTON, DC - September 24, 2008 - Congresswoman Niki Tsongas today applauded the House of Representatives' approval of $5.1 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which will help low-income families pay their heating bills this winter.  The funding was approved as part of a larger spending measure which will fund government operations through March 6, 2009. 

Of the total amount provided, Massachusetts will receive $163,136,526.  Approximately one-quarter of these funds will be distributed through regular block grant funding that is given directly to the state.  The remaining funding will be made available as emergency contingency funding to be released to the state at the discretion of the President.  

"The federal funding approved by the House today, and expected to be approved by the Senate and signed by the president, provides critical funding for low-income heating assistance, which will be desperately needed in our region this winter," said Congresswoman Niki Tsongas.  "Skyrocketing energy prices are already forcing working families to make difficult sacrifices, and without access to additional home heating assistance, many will have their personal safety and well being put in jeopardy.

"While I was hopeful that all of the funding would be made available to the state immediately, this action is certainly a step in the right direction and will help to cushion the impact of out-of-control home heating prices on vulnerable poor, elderly, and disabled populations, whose fixed incomes cannot keep pace with the increasing cost of heating their homes.  I will be asking the next President to release the emergency contingency funds as soon as they are needed in Massachusetts," Tsongas concluded.

Tsongas has been strongly advocating for increased funding for LIHEAP since she was elected last October.  As a member of the Budget Committee, Tsongas strongly opposed the President's proposal that would have reduced LIHEAP funding for the 2009 Fiscal Year, and instead called for full funding of the program at $9 billion.  When it became clear that the House would pass a Continuing Resolution to fund government operations well into the 2009 Fiscal Year, Tsongas joined several of her colleagues in requesting that $5.1 billion for LIHEAP be included as part of the funding package. 

Of the more than 8.5 million American households that use home heating oil, 2.5 million of them – nearly 30 percent – are located in the six New England states alone.  The National Energy Assistance Director's Association (NEADA) reported earlier this summer that more than 15 million households nationwide are currently facing utility shutoffs because they simply cannot afford to pay their energy bills, an increase of nearly 15% from a year ago.

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