CONGRESS Lawmakers of both parties push to double energy assistance fund

If lobbying is successful, Ohio would get an extra $73 million for its program.
By DAVID ENRICH
STATES NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON -- A geographically diverse alliance of lawmakers is urging House leaders to double funding for a federal program that helps needy families pay their heating and cooling bills.
Lawmakers from both parties are seeking to increase the 2004 budget for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, to $3.4 billion.
The bigger budget -- which some proponents acknowledge is unlikely to be approved in its entirety -- would send an extra $73 million to Ohio. The 81 percent increase would bring Ohio's annual LIHEAP allotment to more than $163 million, according to congressional estimates.
In a letter to be sent this week to House appropriators, more than 150 lawmakers, including more than a dozen from Ohio, argue that soaring energy prices and the weak economy necessitate a dramatically larger LIHEAP budget.
"The undersigned come from different climates and from all over the country," the letter says. "All of us have constituents who at some point during the year are forced to choose between keeping their homes at a healthy temperature and putting food on the table."
Among the Ohioans who signed the letter were Reps. Tim Ryan, a Niles Democrat; Ted Strickland, a Lisbon Democrat; and Steven LaTourette, a Madison Republican.
Arguments for increase
LIHEAP advocates say the program's budget hasn't kept pace with inflation over the past two decades. Last year, the program's $1.7 billion budget had only two-thirds the purchasing power of LIHEAP's 1982 budget.
Meanwhile, rising unemployment is putting new pressure on the program as more people become eligible for energy assistance.
In 2002, about 4.4 million households nationwide received LIHEAP money, but the vast majority of eligible households didn't receive assistance. At current levels, lawmakers say, LIHEAP will serve only 15 percent of eligible households next winter.
Procuring the extra funding is a long shot. President Bush has requested that Congress keep LIHEAP's budget steady at $1.7 billion for the 2004 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. While House and Senate committees have authorized a $3.4 billion budget, Congress isn't obligated to provide that much money.
Expectations
A senior congressional aide said nobody on Capitol Hill "really thinks realistically we're going to get the $3.4 billion." He said Congress probably would incrementally increase LIHEAP funding.
Still, LIHEAP boosters say the diverse mix of lawmakers who have signed the letter will put pressure on appropriators to increase the funding over last year's levels.
The inter-regional collaboration "is actually a pretty significant breakthrough," said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association. With a geographically diverse coalition, he said, "You won't have that kind of fight where Southern members come in and say, 'Who needs this?'"