Congress Adds $300 Mln for Heat Bills of Poor

[Khephra]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress approved a $300 million boost in emergency funds to help poor and elderly Americans pay home heating bills that are expected to be sharply higher than last winter.



The government last week forecasted colder weather than normal in the U.S. Northeast and in other parts of the nation this winter. That, plus an increase in energy prices, mean the average home heating oil bill will jump 37 percent from last year and natural gas will be 15 percent higher, according to Energy Information Administration estimates.


Lawmakers included the money -- half of the $600 million boost initially sought by consumer advocates -- in legislation cleared last weekend to fund the government.


A total of $2.2 billion in funding was approved for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). That's $1.9 billion in regular funding plus $300 million in emergency assistance, which can be released to the states at the direction of President Bush (news - web sites).

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=1895&e=3&u=/nm/20041122/pl_nm/energy_congress_winter_dc

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. How did that happen?

Heads will surely roll.

[WI_DEM]

2. and Bush will actually sign this?

[Nimrod]

3. Application for Energy Assistance

Yearly Income: $200,000,000
Yearly Expenses: $2,000,000,000,000
Monthly Energy Bill: $287,000,000

Please remit immediately.

Sincerely
George W. Bush

[ahimsa]

5. Sure, why not?

Since they'll need his signature again later for the money to actually be spent:

which can be released to the states at the direction of President Bush

[FloridaPat]

4. Hope the poor see more of this money than Florida saw of the

$12 billion in hurricane relief. I heard 3% went to Dade county (no hurricane damage there). I haven't met anyone who got anything yet except a few people got mobile homes to live in when their house was destroyed. TYhe businesses I've talked to aren't getting anything. I wonder where the money went.

[0rganism]

6. ...which amounts to a payoff to the utilities

...as would any such targeted assistance. This is essentially the King paying off rogue barons to tolerate the poorer serfs.

The real answer is threefold:
1) improve the means of the "poor" via real welfare and living wages
2) stronger regulation of utility companies and other natural monopolies
3) responsible foreign policy that lowers the costs of imported fuels

[Malva Zebrina]

7. Well we did not get flu shots

but it is nice to know we may get two bucks or so off the heating bill up here in the frozen north and not freeze or starve to death. LOL $300 mil does not seem that much.