The Iowa senator's amendment requires the administration to present a plan to Congress by September 30 on how to control home heating fuel and natural gas prices in the coming months. Itwas included as part of the government's annual spending plan for energy and water projects nationwide, which passed 93 to 1.
Grassley said he offered the measure "because the White House has dropped the ball, and it's dropped it big time, when it comes to energy. President Clinton and Vice President Gore need to deal with this problem aggressively. It's unconscionable to sit idly by as home heating fuel prices double." Grassley has pressed for a strategy from the Energy Secretary during congressional testimony and through correspondence this summer.
He said the only response from the President to date has been begging OPEC nations to pump more oil and creating home-heating oil reserve that's "a drop in the bucket. The two-million-barrel reserve may help control a spike in the price of home heating oil, but it will do nothing to help lower the day-to-day price," Grassley said. Eleven billion gallons of home heating oil are consumed in the United States every year.
In addition, Grassley underscored his support today for additional funds for the federal government program that helps low-income Iowans heat their homes. "An already bad situation for many Iowans will be made worse this year by projections that residential customer energy bills will increase by 48 percent this winter."
The Iowa Division of Community Action Agencies said that a 48 percent increase in winter bills has the same effect on their administration of the LIHEAP program as a 30 percent cut in funding.
Nationwide, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program ? known as LIHEAP ? provides assistance to almost 5 million households, including the working poor, those making the transition from welfare to work, the disabled and elderly, and families with young children. In Iowa, LIHEAP provided heating assistance to 60,024 households last year alone.
In a letter delivered today to the chairman of the Senate subcommittee charged with funding LIHEAP, Grassley asked for additional funding beyond what's been set aside for the coming year. A long-time supporter of the LIHEAP program, Grassley said there could be an opportunity to increase the funding level during final negotiations on the budget this fall.
"Without adequate assistance from this program, many families and older Iowans will be forced to chose between heating their homes and putting food on the table this winter. It's critically important that the President exercise his full authority to address increasing home heating fuel costs and that both the President and Congress dedicate more resources to the LIHEAP program this year," Grassley said.