“Virtual Panel” - Questions and Answers

Question: Can you tell me what the dollar amount we will be asking for LIHEAP, winter
season 2007-2008.?? And for Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia, in particular if you know that also.

Answer: The advocate community has reached a hand-shake agreement that LIHEAP must be level funded at the final appropriation amount provided last year, and must also be distributed via the same mechanism as employed after the March, 2006 Emergency Supplemental Appropriation was enacted into law.
 
That is, $3.2 billion dollars in total, of which roughly $2.6 billion was
allocated under the program's base formula, and $500 million was committed
to -- and distributed through -- LIHEAP's contingency grants.

If this amount is approved by Congress in FY 2007, it will greatly benefit
the at-risk citizens Allegheny serves, and all regions of the country.
This approach will enable the program to retain its national scope, a
situation that all too often hasn't been the case.

Specific to the state-by-state funding query, here's an attached chart recently circulated by NEADA, which utilizes FY06's final LIHEAP appropriation (includes last March's Emergency Appropriation of $1 billion)
as a starting point, and then compares every state's receipt of funds in
FY06, to a very safe projection of what the House and Senate
Appropriations Committees have proposed for FY07, to date. Please note that
against this standard, every state must gird for a severe reduction.

These numbers underscore the urgency and necessity of our effort.

Question: When advocating on behalf of LIHEAP and other energy assistance programs, I often hear the following, and would appreciate an appropriate response for it. "Given that energy assistance needs are as great as they are, why don't utilities just provide rate relief or other forms of low -income assistance? Why must you advocate for LIHEAP to fill the need? Isn't the utility just 'lining its own pockets' with these advocacy efforts?"

Answer: Virtually all utilities provide some form of assistance, either directly or through active support for and coordination with NFFN-affiliated fuel fund networks and other charitable organizations. 

However, experience has shown that these funds are simply not enough, and further, that the task at hand simply overwhelms the private sector's and charities ability to do this important work alone. The states also face similar, serious constraints. The federal role is absolutely essential.

Congress in its wisdom created LIHEAP to help low-income Americans shoulder a portion of their home heating and cooling needs. This is understandable, given the 37 million US citizens now living in poverty. LIHEAP targets a subset of those who are at greatest risk -- very young kids, the disabled, or the very old. Clearly, that these citizens are subsisting on low and/or fixed incomes. Given the volatility of energy prices, LIHEAP has a vital role to help them cope with circumstances well beyond their ability to pay.

By helping impoverished Americans to stay safe and secure in their own homes, LIHEAP prevents further stresses on other government programs, such as Medicare, Medicaid and housing programs. 

The federal government cannot abandon its role in home energy assistance. In fact, it must expand its commitment. Poverty's up.  Prices are still high. And the need remains desperate throughout the nation -- but especially in the South and Southwest. That's why we need to level fund the program at the same amount, and in the same fashion, as Congress ultimately chose to do in FY06 -- at $3.2 billion.

© 2008 Edison Electric Institute