Olver Urges President to Protect Families from Rising Winter Heating Costs in Wake of Hurricane Katrina

Press Release

OLVER URGES PRESIDENT TO PROTECT FAMILIES FROM RISING WINTER HEATING COSTS IN WAKE OF HURRICANE KATRINA

Congressman John W. Olver (D-1st District) has signed a letter to the president addressing the wider effects that Hurricane Katrina will have beyond the shores of the Gulf Coast, particularly that energy prices will continue to rise rapidly and create a looming crisis for cold weather states this winter.

The letter, signed by more than 50 members of Congress, encourages the president to consider the expected surge in costs to consumers of natural gas, electricity, heating oil and propane this winter when developing legislation to deal with the effects of Hurricane Katrina.

In the Sept. 8, 2005 letter, Olver and other members urge the president to provide $900 million in emergency Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds as part of emergency supplemental funding in response to the disaster. LIHEAP is the primary program that provides assistance to help low-income families pay their energy bills. [A copy of the letter is available upon request.]

Olver said, "LIHEAP is a vital safety net that reduces the percentage of income spent on residential energy costs, providing modest, but important relief. We need to make sure this winter that families don't have to make a choice between heating their homes and purchasing necessities like food or medicine."

According to the Energy Information Administration, the full impact of Hurricane Katrina on near-term domestic oil and natural gas supply is still being assessed. The fuel price outlook for the upcoming winter remains particularly uncertain for now.

The letter reads, "Even prior to Katrina, our nation was feeling the squeeze of record high energy prices; with the massive disruption of this hurricane, prices will continue to rise rapidly and create a looming crisis for our cold weather states."

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