Dear Chairman Inouye, Ranking Member Cochran, Chairman Rogers, and Ranking Member Dicks:
As you work to finalize funding levels for FY 2012, we urge you to provide at least $5.1 billion for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the most recent level authorized by Congress. Given the continuing challenges facing our economy, this program remains an essential lifeline to those vulnerable households struggling to pay home energy bills. As Governors who have had to make cuts in our own state budgets, we appreciate the tight budgetary climate Congress faces. We believe that – consistent with Congress’s budgetary constraints – this $5.1 billion allocation can be met through reduced spending for other, less critical, federal programs.
LIHEAP extends seasonal grants to help low-income families and seniors pay their heating and cooling bills. LIHEAP payments serve as “bridges,” allowing households to avoid shutoffs so that they do not have to make the difficult choice between paying for home energy bills or other necessities, such as prescription drugs or food. As Governors, we have worked to ameliorate the volatile nature of home energy costs to our most vulnerable residents by authorizing significant state contributions to emergency relief funds or supplementing existing state-federal programs.
High rates of unemployment and foreclosures have forced record numbers of Americans, many for the first time, to seek out LIHEAP assistance. The program currently helps 8.9 million struggling families heat their homes, a 35 percent increase since 2008. LIHEAP funding also provides critical cooling assistance for vulnerable populations, especially the elderly, many of who are on fixed incomes. According to the CDC, heat waves are one of the most dangerous weather-related exposures.
Contrary to recent assertions that sustained LIHEAP funding is unnecessary because fuel costs have declined from highs in 2008, prices for many fuels exceed 2008 levels. For example, in the first three months of 2011, the average price of home heating oil was 5.5 percent higher than the comparable period in 2008, and the price is expected to continue to climb. The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that the average annual price in 2011 will exceed 2008 prices by 12 percent for home heating oil, almost 5 percent for propane, and 5 percent for electricity. For 2012, the projected annual average price increases over 2008 are even greater: 22 percent for home heating oil, 13.5 percent for propane, and 5 percent for electricity.
Reducing funding for LIHEAP to under $2.6 billion would endanger the heating assistance received by additional 3.1 million households nationwide who have been able to receive aid under current funding levels. Given the extent of the program’s current utilization, price increases for a number of fuels, and the expected fuel price increases for this winter, reducing LIHEAP funding at this time would cause considerable harm.
Contrary to recent assertions that sustained LIHEAP funding is unnecessary because fuel costs have declined from highs in 2008, prices for many fuels exceed 2008 levels. For example, in the first three months of 2011, the average price of home heating oil was 5.5 percent higher than the comparable period in 2008, and the price is expected to continue to climb. The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that the average annual price in 2011 will exceed 2008 prices by 12 percent for home heating oil, almost 5 percent for propane, and 5 percent for electricity. For 2012, the projected annual average price increases over 2008 are even greater: 22 percent for home heating oil, 13.5 percent for propane, and 5 percent for electricity.
Reducing funding for LIHEAP to under $2.6 billion would endanger the heating assistance received by additional 3.1 million households nationwide who have been able to receive aid under current funding levels. Given the extent of the program’s current utilization, price increases for a number of fuels, and the expected fuel price increases for this winter, reducing LIHEAP funding at this time would cause considerable harm.
We greatly appreciate your continued commitment to helping our neediest families. We hope that you take this opportunity to actively support LIHEAP by funding this critical program at $5.1 billion.
Sincerely,
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