Bi-Partisan Fight for LIHEAP

Bi-Partisan Fight for LIHEAP

By Congressman Frank Guinta

As the leaves begin to change colors and fall becomes winter, people all across New England begin to turn on their heaters to stay warm.  During these difficult economic times, a growing number of our friends and family members have had to rely on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, more commonly known as LIHEAP.  This is a vital safety net for many Granite State families — especially our elderly, disabled, and veteran communities.  Since this program is extremely important to our state and region, I wanted to let you know about the strong bi-partisan effort in Congress to make sure this program is properly funded and to guarantee the dollars are released to help our families and neighbors during the fall and winter months.

As a long time supporter, I recently signed onto Congressman Mike Michaud’s (D-ME) legislation as an original co-sponsor.  His bill, HR 6533, the LIHEAP Stability Act, would protect states that are particularly dependent on heating oil, specifically ones in which 25 percent or more of the households use heating oil.  Since almost 49 percent of New Hampshire homes rely on heating oil, our state would continue to receive at least FY2010 funding levels if the price of heating oil continues to increase for the 2012-2013 winter.  The reason why this is important is because we have seen LIHEAP funding reduced from $5.1 billion in FY09 to $3.5 billion in FY12.  The average U.S. household spent $2,298 to heat their homes using oil in 2011— compared to electricity at $957 and natural gas at $724.  Given the cost increases of heating oil, families across New Hampshire are particularly hard hit by LIHEAP cuts. 

This effort was continued in early October when I joined with 90 other Members of Congress in sending a letter to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, to release LIHEAP funding under the current budget agreement.  As New Hampshire agencies prepare their LIHEAP programs for the coming winter, it is imperative the Department of Health and Human Services immediately release this funding. 

Spending patterns for LIHEAP assistance are not consistent throughout the fiscal year. Instead, the majority of assistance in New Hampshire is distributed during the winter months. 

October marks the beginning of the coldest months for many families, and with a difficult economy, this year’s heating season will be an even greater struggle.  It is crucial we release the majority of funding now to allow states to get prepared.

Both of these items have strong bi-partisan support in Congress, and I look forward to continuing this fight for New Hampshire families.  I am proud to have worked across the aisle and with other New England members on such a vital issue to our constituents.

I look forward to reporting back to you in two weeks on the latest developments in Washington.  In the meantime, if I can be of service to you, or if you want to share your thoughts, suggestions or concerns with me, please call either my district office in Manchester at (603) 641-9536 or my Washington office at (202) 225-5456, or contact me through my website at www.Guinta.House.Gov.  You can also follow what I’m doing 24/7 on Facebook at www.facebook.com/repfrankguinta and on Twitter at @RepFrankGuinta.

Until next time, please know that I am always on your side and am actively fighting for New Hampshire’s interests in Washington.