LIHEAP

Floor Speech

LIHEAP -- (Senate - December 18, 2007)

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, let me begin by thanking my good friend, the distinguished chairman of the Appropriations Committee, for yielding.

The reason I rise is to deal with a very important issue that impacts millions of our fellow Americans, and that is all over this country, with the price of home heating oil soaring, people are wondering about how they are going to stay warm this winter. My very fervent hope is that the Congress, both the Senate and the House, will address this issue before we adjourn for the Christmas holidays.

I commend Majority Leader Reid, Minority Leader McConnell, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Byrd, Chairman Harkin, and others for, in fact, adding a significant sum of money--over $400 million--to the Omnibus appropriations bill. This is important, and I appreciate that. I think people all over this country appreciate that.

Unfortunately, however, this total of $2.6 billion in funding for LIHEAP, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, that so many people, so many elderly people depend upon in order to stay warm in the wintertime, while it is an 18-percent increase from last year, it is still 23 percent below what was provided for LIHEAP just 2 years ago in nominal dollars. Meanwhile, as everybody knows, the cost of home heating fuels has soared. Compared to 2 years ago, heating oil prices are projected to be 50 percent higher this winter. The price of propane will be 38 percent higher, and electricity prices will be 14 percent higher. These high prices, coupled with the reduction in LIHEAP assistance compared to 2 years ago, mean States will be forced to either reduce the number of people who will be receiving LIHEAP or else to significantly cut back on the amount of money that people will be receiving. There is no question about what will happen if that occurs: People in the United States of America will be cold. It is possible that some may actually be freezing.

Two years ago, thanks to the leadership of Senator Snowe and many other Senators, LIHEAP funding was increased by $1 billion above the appropriated level because it was then the belief that we faced a home heating emergency. Well, if we faced a home heating emergency at that point, let me tell my colleagues we face one today that is even more severe. In the State of Vermont and all over this country, we are having elderly people living on fixed incomes who are looking at the soaring prices of home heating fuels. They are scared to death. It seems to me that we have the moral responsibility as the Senate of the United States of America to do something for those people before we adjourn.

I thank my colleague, Senator Leahy from Vermont, as well as Senators COLEMAN, KLOBUCHAR, SNOWE, OBAMA, DOLE, BAUCUS, SUNUNU, CANTWELL, COLLINS, CASEY, LIEBERMAN, LANDRIEU, KERRY, KENNEDY, and CLINTON for supporting an amendment that will essentially increase LIHEAP funding by $800 million, half of which will go into the normal LIHEAP formula, half will go into emergency funding to be used at the discretion of the President.

While those Senators are already onboard, I know there are many other Senators--Republicans, Democrats, and Independents--who are also wanting a vote to show the people back home that we have not forgotten them and that we do not want any Americans to go cold this winter.

Let me simply conclude by suggesting to you that the people of our country all over America are losing faith in the U.S. Government. That is no secret. Polling for the President, polling for Congress is at an almost all-time low. They think we are concerned about a whole lot of issues, but we are not concerned about them. It seems to me that before we go home to our well-heated homes, before we go home to our vacation time, that we not turn our backs on some of those who are most in need. I think we have to act boldly to restore faith in the U.S. Government, and I hope that before we leave, we can get a vote on this floor with bipartisan support, and that we can move this process forward.

Mr. President, with that, I thank my good friend, Senator Byrd, the outstanding leader of our Appropriations Committee, for yielding, and I yield back the remainder of my time.

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