MADISON, WI -- Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin today joined colleagues calling for an additional $600 million in emergency home heating funds for low-income families in the omnibus appropriations bill being finalized this week.

"This winter could produce a 'perfect storm' when rising fuel prices collide with unusually harsh weather conditions leaving low-income families and the elderly particularly vulnerable. Add to that unpredictable health conditions due to the lack of flu vaccine and we could face a true national emergency," said Baldwin. "Our federal government must respond to this potential threat, better now than later when the costs could be even higher."

As Congress convenes today for a lame-duck session, appropriators will have an opportunity to increase funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) which Baldwin calls essential to the well-being of families in south central Wisconsin.

In the House-passed version of the Labor-HHS appropriations bill, LIHEAP, which includes both a basic grant program to states and emergency funding, is dangerously underfunded -- more than $1 billion below the authorized level. It is likely that without additional funding, the states' low-income heating assistance programs will run out of money well before the end of winter.

The Department of Energy estimates that the cost of propane heating will increase 26% over last winter and the cost of natural gas heating will be up 47%. Funding for LIHEAP remains at about the same level as it stood when the program was started in 1981, even though home heating oil prices have risen 67 % during that same time period.

According to a survey conducted last winter, LIHEAP helped restore heat to 62 % of those who lost it last year because they could not afford to pay their bills. The program is truly a lifesaver.