(NECN: Jack Thurston, Montpelier, Vt.) - On the last day of what has been a bitterly cold month for many in the U.S., the Obama administration on Thursday released nearly $454-million in home heating funds to needy Americans, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The funding followed an initial release of $2.9-billion in early November of 2013 to help low-income people afford to heat their homes.

According to federal figures from the Health & Human Services Dept., Massachusetts received $18.3-million. Connecticut received $9.8-million, Maine got $5.2-million, New Hampshire received $3.3-million, Rhode Island received just over $3-million, and Vermont's share was $2.5-million, federal documents showed. New York’s new funding was for $50.6-million.

"It gets very cold up here," said Gwen Hoffses of Montpelier, Vt. "If somebody didn't have heat, they could end up getting very sick, or they could die.

Hoffses told New England Cable News she relies on federal and state heating assistance money to make it through the chilly winters in Vermont on her low income. "Because we applied for fuel assistance, we have more money to pay for food," she said.

The heating help needy Americans get from Congress has been declining, as fuel prices have been climbing. "Frankly, it's not enough," said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., describing the fuel money released from Washington this week. "As a result of the recession, and the fact that so many people are struggling, there are people tonight who are wondering how they are going to adequately heat their home."

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said it used to be primarily lawmakers from the coldest northern-tier states who cared about this issue. But recent weather patterns, which sent the deep south below freezing, may start to change the conversation, Leahy said.

"I can now go to some of these senators and representatives from some of the southern states, especially after this week, and say, 'Hey guys, we're going to run out of money at some point. You've got to join with us for an emergency appropriation and add more,'" Leahy told NECN.

Leahy acknowledged Washington does have to tighten its budget belt, but he said heating assistance should remain a priority.

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";} Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., joined more than 120 members of Congress in sending a letter this week to President Obama to ask for more funding for heating assistance programs.

 

The text of that letter is below:

 

President Barack Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

In light of record breaking and life threatening cold weather across the nation this winter, we are writing to request that you prioritize the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in your Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 budget proposal by including no less than $4.7 billion for this program that provides critical support to our most vulnerable citizens. 

 

LIHEAP is the main federal program that helps low-income households and seniors with their energy bills, providing vital assistance during both the cold winter and hot summer months. LIHEAP households are among the most vulnerable in the country. According to the National Energy Assistance Director’s Association (NEADA), more than 90 percent of LIHEAP recipients have at least one household member who is a child, elderly, or disabled, and 20 percent of households contain at least one veteran. For these households, LIHEAP funding has been a lifeline during challenging economic times. Access to affordable home energy is not a luxury – it is a matter of health and safety.

We understand the ongoing discretionary budget challenges. However, we are deeply concerned that funding for LIHEAP has declined more than 30 percent in recent years. Moreover, the number of households eligible for assistance continues to exceed available funding. Sequestration has further exacerbated these funding challenges. According to NEADA, the total number of households receiving LIHEAP assistance has declined by 17 percent between FY 2010 and FY 2013, from about 8.1 million to 6.7 million. Nearly 1.5 million vulnerable households have lost access to critical LIHEAP assistance and struggle to pay for the basic necessity of home energy in addition to other essentials like food and medicine. 

Funding has declined, yet energy costs have remained high, reducing the purchasing power of LIHEAP assistance. Recipients have seen their average LIHEAP grant reduced by more than $100 since 2010, from $520 in FY 2010 to $406 in FY 2013. Meanwhile, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that average winter home heating costs will rise six percent to $977 per household this winter. The average LIHEAP grant is estimated to cover less than half of the average home heating costs for a household this winter, meaning that many low-income families and seniors will have fewer resources available to meet other basic needs.

As you finalize your FY 2015 budget request, we ask that you take into account the great need for LIHEAP. We urge you to reprioritize this program within your FY 2015 budget and restore funding to this program to a level no less than $4.7 billion.

Thank you for your attention to and consideration of this important request.

Sincerely,

 

Welch, Peter King, McGovern, Fitzpatrick, DeLauro, Gibson, Neal, McCollum, Langevin, Kind, Sablan, Capuano, Larson, Kuster, Lynch, Cicilline, Michaud, Kaptur, Higgins, Grimm, Tierney, Benishek, Dingell, Kirkpatrick, Kennedy, Shea-Porter, Connolly, Barletta, Levin, Pocan, Tsongas, Moran, Courtney, Bobby Scott, Bennie Thompson, Fudge, Delaney, Lujan Grisham, Engel, Sanford Bishop, Tonko, Gene Green, Sean Patrick Maloney, Ellison, Cohen, Katherine Clark, Maffei, Peterson, Richmond, Crowley, Grijalva, LoBiondo, Keating, Pingree, Moore, Slaughter, Carolyn Maloney, Hanna, Israel, Rangel, Jackson Lee, Sires, Esty, Edwards, Yvette Clarke, Nadler, Gary Peters, Alcee Hastings, Tim Bishop, Meeks, Lujan, Cartwright, Napolitano, Cardenas, Chu, Fattah, Holt, Tim Ryan, Barber, Meng, Quigley, Van Hollen, Cummings, Pastor, Serrano, Pallone, Hank Johnson, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Vargas, Doyle, Schwartz, Rahall, Robert Brady, Lee, Loebsack, Gerlach, Bonamici, Cleaver, Carolyn McCarthy, Negrete McLeod, Honda, Yarmuth, Norton, Jeffries, Himes, Blumenauer, Danny Davis, Bustos, DeGette, Cuellar, Sinema, Brown, Kildee, Doggett, Clay, Conyers, Rush, Schakowsky, Huffman, Owens, Al Green, Payne, Foster, Walz