LIHEAP fuel aid funds going quickly

AUGUSTA – Mainers who qualify for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program are burning through the $19.4 million allocated for the program, and the state’s congressional delegation says additional funds are doubtful. And already the cold is taking its toll.

“We have had a report of two elderly ladies in Presque Isle that were taken to the hospital for hypothermia,” Gov. John Baldacci said Sunday. “I don’t know the details, it’s secondhand through staff, but I will say we are going to be there to make sure seniors and disabled people are safe, secure and warm this winter.”

Legislative leaders have agreed to pass a $5 million state appropriation for fuel aid on Jan. 4, the first day of the session. Baldacci said fundraising was going well for the charitable appeal he launched earlier that is aimed at helping the poor pay their heating bills.

By Jan. 1, the state expects to have spent three-quarters of the money received from the feds for LIHEAP.

While Baldacci is hopeful Congress will provide some additional aid this year, he is not optimistic. Neither are members of the state’s congressional delegation, although they are continuing efforts to secure funding.

“I am actually optimistic we can add another $2 billion to the program, which is not the $2.9 billion I have been seeking,” Sen. Susan Collins said Sunday. “But the problem becomes what is all rolled into a vote, and that may become very difficult.”

Collins said the measure that funds LIHEAP, the Labor-Health and Human Services appropriations bill, may be added to the Defense bill along with a list of other measures such as a proposal allowing drilling for oil and natural gas in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge.

“I even heard this morning of an effort to add a campaign finance bill to the DOD [Department of Defense] appropriation,” she said. “This is just shameful, and it has got to stop.”

Collins said she and other moderate Republicans in both the Senate and the House may be forced to vote against important measures because of amendments added to the bills. She said, for example, she does not know whether she can vote for the DOD bill if it includes the drilling provisions or does not provide adequate funding for human services programs such as LIHEAP.

“It’s shameful that Congress has paid so little attention to the needs of the colder states, like Maine,” 2nd District Rep. Michael Michaud said. “Under the House version of LIHEAP, the program gets another $1 billion, but most of that goes to Southern states to help pay air-conditioning costs.”

An analysis of the House-passed annual appropriation for the program by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, indicates Maine will receive only an additional $1 million in the current budget year. South Carolina will see its funding swell from $15 million for the 2005 budget year to $39 million for the 2006 budget year.

LIHEAP not only provides heating assistance, it also helps poor people keep cool during the summer heat in Southern states. The study criticized the formula the House adopted, pointing out that electricity prices are expected to increase slightly while heating costs have skyrocketed.

“Not one of the 10 states that would receive the largest percentage increase in LIHEAP funding is in the northern part of the country,” the study concluded.

The state’s congressional delegation has made a major effort to have additional funds appropriated for immediate aid. Last Thursday, the Senate adopted a nonbinding resolution, 63-28, calling for the conference committee between the House and Senate to bring funding up to the maximum allowed, $5.1 billion.

“We simply must provide sufficient LIHEAP funding to assist families, seniors and disabled Americans who will not be able to afford to heat their homes this winter,” Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe said. “Before Congress adjourns this year, we must ensure that no American is forced to choose between food and keeping warm.”

But 1st District Rep. Tom Allen said House Republicans are trying to add an amendment that would cut all federal spending, across the board, by 1 percent. That, he said, means an $8 billion reduction and could wipe out even the minor increase in LIHEAP for Maine in the House-passed funding measure.

“And those additional cuts would be a bad deal for the state of Maine,” he said. “That means cuts in all sorts of programs, from student aid and child care and so many other programs of importance to Maine and the rest of the country.”

Both the House and Senate met sporadically through the weekend, but no votes were taken in the Senate and few in the House. Several votes are expected today after the weekend of private discussions.