Have you ever been COLD, Mr. President?

[kpete]

MON AUG 15, 2011 AT 05:30 AM PDT
Have you ever been COLD, Mr. President?
bykestrel9000

That's it.

This is too much for me.

I can no longer ignore the calls to primary this sorry excuse for a President.

We wasted a whole year talking about deficits when we should have been talking job creation, we have the so-called Democrat in the White House speaking the language of the right with talk of, "entitlement reform"....and now THIS?

................

President Barack Obama's proposal to chop the budget of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program nearly in half looms in a region where 70 percent of the households heat with oil. Latest figures show more than 350,000 of those households received LIHEAP support.

Maine's LIHEAP funding could drop from $58 million for this year to about $26 million. New Hampshire's could be cut from $36 million to $15 million, and Vermont's from $25.6 million to $11.6 million.

Cuts are also proposed in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

http://greenmountaindaily.com/diary/7125/liheap-cuts-no-excuse-obama



http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/15/1007037/-Have-you-ever-been-COLD,-Mr-President?via=siderec

[dennis4868]

1. THIS WAS DEBUNKED...

many months ago...have to find the link...you guys are funny...facts mean nothing here..hahaha!

[emcguffie]

2. Please, how do you mean, debunked?

I hope so, but for myself, I do not know. I live in the northeast, and had my power turned off a couple of times last year. My biggest financial problem seems to be heating my small home, which for some reason runs nearly $800 month (that includes electricity; the heat is from a forced air gas furnace).


They always run out of funds within days. I was definitely under the impression they had been cut.

Thanks for any info.

[Demonaut]

20. $800 wtf, have you considered a energy audit if your utility offers one?

that "small" home has issues

[pipi_k]

28. No kidding!!!

I heat my +/- 1600 sq. ft. home with wood pellets each year.

The season where I am starts mid to late September and runs through the winter till at least May 15th.

We keep the temperature up above 72.

Cost of pellets for the entire season...about 8 months... about $1,000.


Or, about $125 per month. Without electricity. With electricity, it goes up by another $150.00 or so.

[Maine-ah]

29. one of the easiest ways to save money

is to get on a payment plan with your fuel provider. I heat with LP, and a Rinaii, two of them. One in the basement and one in the living room. I pay about 250$ a month year round. I also heat my water this way and my kitchen stove. We have electric back up which is used sparingly.

[pipi_k]

30. Got one of them too...

The Rinnai, I mean...out on the sun porch. It also runs on LP. Mid winter we can turn on the heater and sit out there in perfect comfort just for a change of scenery.

:)

[eShirl]

10. Did they have a time machine, or were they just psychic?

Because I could really use a time machine about now...

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[pipi_k]

4. Don't know if this link is acceptable or what, but

it points to a plan whereby only fraud and waste will be cut.


NOT aid to needy people.


http://blog.heritage.org/2011/02/17/cutting-liheap-doesnt-mean-poor-will-freeze/



PS...just a friendly suggestion...sometimes it pays to do a bit of research before pushing the outrage button...

[Enrique]

7. according to Heritage

giving aid to poor people for anything IS fraud and waste.

[pipi_k]

9. That's not what I came away with...

Did you read the article?


At first glance, President Obama’s motion to kill a program that provides low-income families with energy sounds as politically attractive as legislation to drown puppies, but when you take a look at the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), it makes all the sense in the world.

---snip---


Nobody wants the heat shut off on low-income households in the middle of winter, which is why state laws prohibit utilities from doing so, making LIHEAP duplicative. In reality, that money just goes to utilities that would not have collected the money. In many cases the money is lost to fraud and abuse. A June 2010 Government Accountability Office report on LIHEAP found that:

---snip---

[Enrique]

i used to work at a utility, handlind LIHEAP applications

funds were extremely scarce, and the people that needed it really needed it. At the time I worked there, the income qualification was something like 14,400 annually.

Do you know who Heritage is? Have you ever before now read their justifications for cutting programs for poor people? I'll give you a clue as to their strategy, they don't just come out and say we hate poor people, let's freeze them to death. They couch it in harmless "waste and fraud" language just like they did in that article. And no, I didn't read it, I just read what you excerpted.

[pipi_k]

17. FYI...

since you didn't bother reading the article, here are a few examples of the type of waste and fraud that should be cut...


• The Department of Health and Human Services sent $3.9 million to 11,000 deceased people to pay heating and cooling costs out of the LIHEAP.

• The state of Illinois “provided $840 in energy assistance to a U.S. Postal Service employee who fraudulently reported zero income to qualify for LIHEAP. Despite earning about $80,000 per year, the employee stated that she saw ‘long lines’ of individuals applying for LIHEAP benefits and wanted the ‘free money.’”

• Claims processors did not practice due diligence. The report states, “Posing as low-income residents, landlords, and an energy company, GAO used bogus addresses and fabricated energy bills, pay stubs, and other documents to apply for energy assistance. All fraudulent claims were processed and the energy assistance payments were issued to our bogus landlords and company.”


How many truly needy people may have had to go without because of the fraud inflicted on LIHEAP by those crooks above?

If they're getting away with fraud and waste, then it's just like cutting the budget. People who need it aren't getting it because someone else who didn't need it got to it first.

[Enrique]

21. name a program where Heritage can't find such waste

Every program has waste, and the waste should be dealt with, of course, for the reasons you say.

But what Heritage does is dishonest. What they are going after is cuts if not elimination of programs. They use the waste as a cover for that. That's what they exist for. I've heard their stuff for years, but I'm surprised to be hearing in on DU.

[pipi_k]

24. Heritage didn't start it

They're only giving their opinion on the matter.

I had never heard of Heritage before, which was why I was doubtful as to whether the link would be acceptable or not.

It's not Heritage that is "finding" the waste and fraud. They are merely reporting on it.

[newthinking]

33. Heritage foundation is a primary propaganda vehicle of the Republican Party

You could not have picked a worst site to quote from.

[katnapped]

22. Um, you do of course understand

Oil and propane companies don't deliver unless they're...um...what's the word....oh right...PAID. They certainly can cut you off in the middle of winter.

[pipi_k]

26. And what does that have to do with cutting waste and fraud? n/t

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[piratefish08]

12. $32 million in 'fraud' cut from ME's $58 million budget?

you're right. surely no needy will be affected.

:rofl:

"it is a program beset by fraud and waste". you know what else is beset with fraud and waste? every fucking thing in Washington.

$16 trillion to the banks. 100's of billions 'disappear' in the desert. our invisible, probably illegal, war machine of private contractors. $500 per SECOND spent on the War on Drugs.

$32 million dollars from the state of ME won't finance our fucking wars for an hour. our country is sick and getting indefensible.

[pipi_k]

14. So, what's the point...

Fraud exists in other places, so let's just ignore it totally across the board?

I don't suppose there's any logic in thinking that cutting waste and fraud in some programs means more people who really need the services will get them, rather than people who don't...

[Enrique]

15. it's not cutting waste and fraud

it's knocking millions of households off of heating aid. It's people who have been getting aid in the past being told this year, we can't help you. That's what it is.

[pipi_k]

19. My crystal ball is broken...

so I don't have the privilege of knowing what is or is not reality before it actually happens.

I guess I honestly don't understand people who interpret the cutting of waste and fraud as a direct attack on the poor.

I want the poor to have what they need. There was a time long ago when I was poor as well. It would have burned me up royally to know that the programs I needed were being assaulted by criminals who were trying to scam the system. I do NOT want crooks and shysters to ruin it for people who need services.


:shrug:

[newthinking]

34. Your premise is flawed

Republican propagandists want you to think there is that much fraud in a program like this, but there just is not nearly enough to warrant this much concern for this program. Most of the funds in that program go directly to pay for heating fuel based on mostly well vetted income guidelines.

Maybe you might want to pull out some articles of fraud in the Military? Now that is full of fraud and inefficiency.

[piratefish08]

18. the point is, and always is, when it comes to cuts of any kind they pick the low hanging

and most defenseless fruit.

and can't kiss corporate and military asses fast enough, hard enough or long enough.

[pipi_k]

23. That's been the way for nearly forever...

and it sucks. It really does.


But what do you do? People always tend to go after the weak and powerless, even in the course of everyday life.

Bullies exist on every level and in every walk of life.

Do bullies go after the guys who can kick their asses? Of course not. There are even bullies here at DU...the ones who come running in to tell everyone how they verbally kicked some teabagger ass. Only problem is that the teabagger ass usually belonged to someone who couldn't literally kick some ass of his/her own.

Anyway, I don't necessarily see cutting waste and fraud as something bad, no matter where it happens. It would be nice to see it on a larger stage, like in our government. Hopefully one day that will happen.

[newthinking]

32. Heritage foundation is a right wing think tank. Find a better link

[scheming daemons]

5. another full-frontal attack on Obama using dubious "facts"...

Romney and Perry thank you for the help.

Your disinformation campaign is better than anything they could dream up

[Melinda]

27. So what are the real "facts", then? Please share the true facts about LIHEAP & Obama's budget, ty.

I look forward to reading the factual material(s) that you'll be certain to post here. TIA, sd. :)

[Enrique]

6. there seems to be some news on this, though it's not in the OP

http://www.wgme.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wgme_vid_8893.shtml

Maine could lose millions in LIHEAP funding

The state of Maine could lose more than $30 million in LIHEAP funding this year. This is part of a set of proposed budget cuts, including a plan from the White House to cut LIHEAP funding in half across the country. New Hampshire and Vermont could also lose more than half their funding.Maine could lose millions in LIHEAP funding

Monday, August 15 2011, 08:14 AM EDT

[crazyjoe]

11. OMG, I can't understand what this president is thinking about.

In the grand seem of things, this is small potato's, and they are going to cut it?? Your going to have people dieing directly because of this due to electric heaters, carbon monoxide poisoning, ect.
I don't think the Republicans would try an pull this one!

[BackToThe60s]

13. Unrecced for Unfairness

Sorry, kpete, I have found many of your posts to be spot-on, but not this one.

[Bluebear]

31. What's unfair?

[pnorman]

16. K but NOT R!

n/t

[amborin]

25. kr