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Murphy asks Bush to release heat fund
Sep 4, 11:52 AM
By PETER URBAN
WASHINGTON — Rep. Christopher Murphy plans to turn up the heat on President Bush to release $100 million in emergency funding forlow-income energy assistance when Congress returns to session next week.
Murphy, D-5, wants the president to release the funds from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program before the federal fiscal yearends on Sept. 30. Otherwise, the funds will roll back into the general fund.
“I don’t understand how President Bush could look himself in themirror if he allows $100 million to disappear that could have beenused for heating in this most expensive heating winter,” Murphy toldr eporters Thursday by telephone.
Connecticut could expect to get about $4 million of that $100 million depending on the formula used to disperse the emergency funding. Aside from sending his own letter, Murphy said he plans to ask his House colleagues to sign a similar appeal to President Bush when they get back to work next week.
Bush has $120 million now at his disposalto help poor families pay their heating bills this winter, $100 million of that expires if it is not released by the end of the month. Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell made a similar appeal to the president last month through a letter that was signed by members of the Coalition of Northeast Governors.
In that letter, they noted that a record 15.6 million families are behind on their utility bills andrisk being disconnected. The region relies heavily on home heating oil for the winter, now priced at about $5 a gallon.
Patricia Wrice, executive director of the nonprofit Operation Fuel,Inc., said that more and more families cannot afford to heat their homes as energy costs rise. Operation Fuel, which supplements the federal LIHEAP program, gave out more than $3 million in energy assistance last year and it wasn’t enough.
“The phones continued to ring and are still ringing because folks are so concerned about how they are going to manage,” Wrice said.
Murphy said that lawmakers from New England are pushing for $9 billion in LIHEAP funding for the next fiscal year, triple the amount allocated in this year’s budget.
The large increase, he said, is needed because energy costs have doubled and more eligible families are expected to apply for assistance.
“We think we need it to keep up with demand,” Murphy said.
