December 5, 2007

Staff Report

WASHINGTON — As Vermont dug out from the season's first major winter snow Tuesday, emergency legislation to provide $1 billion for home heating assistance was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and in the House of Representatives by U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., according to a news release from the Vermont delegation.

Skyrocketing home heating bills already are stretching household budgets," Sanders said. "In the richest country on earth, we have a moral responsibility to make sure that no one has to make a choice between food or medicine or heat for their homes. Congress must act now to deal with this national emergency."

Leahy said: "With the price of oil hovering near $100 per barrel, Vermonters are facing a 26 percent hike in their heating fuel bills this winter. The Bush administration is turning a blind eye to that harsh reality. Just three weeks ago President Bush vetoed $2.4 billion in LIHEAP help for struggling families. His veto has contributed to the looming emergency that this bill addresses."

"Vermonters are getting squeezed," Welch said. "The high cost of heating fuel is crippling family budgets and threatens the health and well-being of many of our neighbors already struggling to get by. It is critical that we provide this emergency assistance to Vermonters facing these exorbitant fuel costs."

The Keep Americans Warm Act of 2007 would provide an additional $1 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program this winter, when home heating bills for a typical household burning heating oil are projected to total $2,157, a 47 percent increase from last winter, according to the release.

The National Energy Directors Association estimated propane prices will set the typical household back $1,765 this winter, 31 percent more than a year ago. Electricity will cost 9 percent more; and natural gas prices were projected to go up by more than 9 percent, according to the release.

The Sanders bill has strong bipartisan backing from 23 Senate co-sponsors, Sanders said. Meanwhile Welch lined up 12 cosponsors in the House.