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Washington, D.C. - Deeply troubled by congressional Republicans' backdoor maneuver to temporarily cut funding for low-income heating assistance and community action groups, Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) today vowed to fiercely fight any attempts to make those reductions permanent. Although Fiscal Year 2006 began on October 1, many of the spending bills that fund the government's operations for the year have still not passed through Congress. As a result, the House and Senate had to pass a temporary funding measure last week, called a continuing resolution (CR), to keep the government functioning through November 18. Unlike previous years, however, the Republican-leadership chose not to continue all government operations at their Fiscal Year 2005 levels, opting instead to make cuts to several critical programs.
"At a time when we are seeing record oil prices, it is unconscionable that the Republican-led Congress would pass a measure that takes away critical federal aid for home heating to our nation's low-income individuals and families. This may very well force these people to go without heat this winter or require them to cut back on other necessities such as food and medicine to pay for that heat," Hinchey said. "Fortunately, this funding measure only lasts until mid-November, but I am afraid that this may foreshadow what lies ahead when the Republican-controlled Congress passes a permanent spending bill for Fiscal Year 2006. We must be aggressive in fighting these cuts."
Specifically, the CR would result in a 50 percent cut in funding to the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program, going from $636.8 million in Fiscal Year 2005 to $320 million. In addition, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) would receive up to a $175 million cut in funding at a time when natural gas prices are more than 100 percent higher than a year ago, and when home heating oil prices are expected to double in some parts of the country from what they were last winter.
CSBG provides the core funding to more than 1,000 Community Action Agencies across the country that provide vital services for more than 6 million low-income families and communities, including emergency food assistance and job placement. These agencies are already serving 110,000 evacuees of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and may have to curtail the many services they have been offering.
"If Republicans are looking for ways to make cuts, they should focus at the top of the income bracket and reverse the massive tax breaks they've given to the wealthiest Americans at the expense of everyone else," Hinchey said. "With additional revenue from rolled back tax cuts to the nation's millionaires we could fully fund the home heating assistance and community action programs as well as many other important initiatives."
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita are turning a bad situation into a national emergency in terms of heating people's homes this winter. According to the Energy Department, the cost of heating homes is expected to skyrocket by over 70 percent this winter. A reduction of up to $175 million in LIHEAP at a time of skyrocketing energy prices, could leave thousands of families with children and seniors on fixed incomes freezing this winter, especially in cold weather states used to seeing the temperatures go down below zero for extended periods of time.
The CR passed the House last Thursday, the Senate on Friday and was signed into law by the president on Friday evening.
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