Column from U.S. Senator Russ Feingold Tough Choices in Harsh Wisconsin Winters October 8, 2008 It’s a gut-wrenching decision too many Wisconsin families are forced to make during our state’s often harsh winters -- in a tough economy and on a limited budget, do they pay to heat their home or pay for prescriptions, groceries, and other essentials? For their own health and safety, no family should be forced to make that kind of choice. With the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the federal government helps families pay heating bills, reduce energy consumption, and implement projects to lower energy costs, such as window replacement. Home improvements from this program reduce energy costs and save money over time. LIHEAP is increasingly important as energy prices skyrocket, but the administration once again proposed drastically underfunding it, at levels where the program would only serve 15 percent of eligible families. To provide immediate assistance, this September I worked with Senator Kohl and a bipartisan group of senators in a successful effort to release emergency LIHEAP funds, including more than $3.4 million for Wisconsin. This is in addition to other efforts that have helped bring more than $328 million in LIHEAP funding to Wisconsin from 2005 to August 2008. In order to keep more Wisconsinites out of the cold this winter, Congress needs to provide better support for this vital program. Throughout this year, most recently in mid-September, I urged Senate appropriators to help Wisconsin families this winter by fully funding LIHEAP. After years of pushing for stronger support of LIHEAP, it was an extraordinary victory for low-income families when Congress voted in late September to fully fund LIHEAP for only the second time since its inception in 1981. While increased LIHEAP funding will help more Wisconsin families to be healthy and warm this winter, the federal government must provide long-term, consistent support to the program. Steady backing for LIHEAP will be critical as our tough economy puts more and more families in need of home heating assistance. Wisconsinites know how to make the best of even the toughest winters, but we also know how vital a warm home is during hazardous low temperatures and dangerous winter storms. Working with members of both parties, I will continue to fight for the LIHEAP funds Wisconsin needs to keep our families safe and warm this winter, and in the winters to come.