2/9/11, "Exclusive: White House to Cut Energy Assistance for the Poor," National Journal, Marc Ambinder
"President Obama’s proposed 2012 budget will cut several billion dollars from the government’s energy assistance fund for poor people, officials briefed on the subject told National Journal.
It's the biggest domestic spending cut disclosed so far, and one that will likely generate the most heat from the president's traditional political allies. Such complaints might satisfy the White House, which has a vested interest in convincing Americans that it is serious about budget discipline.
One White House friend, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said earlier today that a Republican proposal to cut home heating oil counted as an "extreme idea" that
- would "set the country backwards."
Schumer has not yet reacted to Obama's proposed cut. On Wednesday, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., declared: “The President’s reported proposal to drastically slash LIHEAP funds
- by more than half would have a severe impact
on many of New Hampshire’s most vulnerable citizens and I strongly oppose it." A spokesman for Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., declared similarly: “If these cuts are real, it would be a very disappointing development for millions of families still struggling through a harsh winter.”
- In a letter to Obama, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., wrote, "We simply cannot afford to cut LIHEAP funding during one of the most brutal winters in history. Families across Massachusetts, and the country, depend on these monies to heat their homes and survive the season."
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, would see funding drop by about $2.5 billion from an authorized 2009 total of $5.1 billion. The proposed cut will not touch the program's emergency reserve fund, about $590 million, which can be used during particularly harsh cold snaps or extended heat spells,
- three officials told National Journal.
In 2010, Obama signed into law an omnibus budget resolution that released a total of about $5 billion in LIHEAP grants for 2011. Pointing to the increasing number of Americans who made use of the grants last year, advocates say that LIHEAP is already underfunded.
- The American Gas Association predicts that 3 million Americans eligible for the program won't be able to receive it unless LIHEAP funding stays at its current level. ...
Officials were quick to point out that LIHEAP spending has grown significantly over the past several years as the government tried to keep up with rising gas prices. In 2008, the government spent $2.6 billion on LIHEAP.
- In 2009, the figure jumped to $8.1 billion.
So the cut from that high level restores LIHEAP to something close to
- where it was before Obama took office.
Other circumstances, such as the weather and fuel prices, could affect the distribution of benefits....
LIHEAP has been semi-sacred for most Democrats and many Republicans--a program that carries an emotional resonance as it was designed to keep poor people,
- particularly older poor people,
cool in the summer and warm in the winter. “A lot of people in the Northeast are going to be unhappy,” an administration official briefed on the budget said. That's one reason why Republican Senators like Scott Brown of Massachusetts plus Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine would probably join Democratic efforts to keep funding levels higher.
Critics say that the program is poorly administered and that, contrary to intentions, it’s become a subsidy for energy companies, most of whom are prohibited by law from turning off services to delinquent bill-payers during weather emergencies.
- About 10 percent of LIHEAP funds are transferred to “weatherization” programs, according to a government study.
Obama tapped the LIHEAP discretionary fund in January during a record-shattering cold snap in the Northeast.
News of the cut comes on the very day that the National Fuel Funds Network, a coalition of energy groups and community advocates, holds its “Washington Action Day” on Capitol Hill to call on Congress
- to increase funding by at least $1 billion. "...
via Weasel Zippers
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