Trump's Proposal To End Heating Aid For Low-Income Americans Faces Congressional Opposition [View all]
Source: Associated Press
By DAVID SHARP Published JULY 3, 2017 11:25 AM
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The summer air is sizzling as the Fourth of July approaches, yet 86-year-old Richard Perkins already worries about how he’s going to stay warm this winter.
President Donald Trump has proposed eliminating heating aid for low-income Americans, claiming it’s no longer necessary and rife with fraud. People needn’t worry about being left in the cold, he says, because utilities cannot cut off customers in the dead of winter. But he is wrong on all counts.
The heating program provides a critical lifeline for people like Perkins, and officials close to the program don’t see any widespread fraud. Guidelines for winter shutoffs by utilities vary from state to state and don’t apply to heating oil, a key energy source in the brittle New England winter.
“It’s beyond my thinking that anyone could be that cruel,” said Perkins, a retired restaurateur who relies on the program to keep warm in Ogunquit, Maine.
Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-eliminate-heating-air-congress-opposition
= new reply since forum marked as read
