WASHINGTON, DC -- In an effort to help millions of families nationwide who are struggling with the skyrocketing cost of energy prices, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and over 40 of his colleagues today sent a bipartisan letter to President Bush urging the release of the remaining $120 million in contingency funds for the Low-Income Housing Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) within the next two weeks.

"Releasing the remaining contingency funds will help provide assistance to thousands of Rhode Islanders and millions of American families in jeopardy of losing service. Too many American families are going to be forced to choose between paying their utility bills and feeding their children. I urge the President to immediately release this critical funding to help people deal with severe weather, warm temperatures, and record-high energy prices," said Reed, Chairman of the Northeast-Midwest Coalition.

Reed has secured nearly $19 million in LIHEAP funding for Rhode Island in 2008, including over $5.3 million in emergency contingency funds. In response to Senator Reed's contingency request this past December, over $4.4 in contingency funding was released on January 16, 2008, followed by an additional $843,229 on February 22, 2008.

In a bipartisan letter to President Bush today the senators wrote: "In some areas of the country, many families are still reeling from the high energy prices from this past winter. In other areas of the country, we have already seen hotter than normal temperatures. For low-income households, LIHEAP is an important safety net and will save many from making the tough choice between paying their energy bill or putting food on the table."

Last year, nearly 30,000 Rhode Island households relied on LIHEAP to assist with the costs of heating their homes and to pay delinquent utilities bills to reestablish service.

The text of the letter follows:

June 27, 2008

The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We are writing to urge you to immediately release the remaining $120 million in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) contingency fund to address the needs of families and seniors across the nation. Due to the urgency of this crisis, we request that you release funds in no less than two weeks of today's date.

In some areas of the country, many families are still reeling from the high energy prices from this past winter. In other areas of the country, we have already seen hotter than normal temperatures. For low-income households, LIHEAP is an important safety net and will save many from making the tough choice between paying their energy bill or putting food on the table.

As you release contingency funds, we urge you to consider several factors: the threat of utility shutoffs for millions of households, families trying to pre-buy energy for the coming winter, continued high energy costs and the lack of leveraging money this year that states were counting on.

Record high energy costs have resulted in record numbers of households facing utility disconnection. The National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA) estimates that more than 15.6 million households face utility shutoffs because they cannot pay their energy bills. Shutoff moratoria have run out in the states that have them. Many families are already experiencing this difficult situation and many more will face this prospect without additional LIHEAP funding.

Additionally, families in cold weather states who were able to pay this winter's bill are already preparing for next winter and are finding the costs of home heating to be out of reach. In its most recent Short-Term Energy Outlook, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicted that the cost of home heating oil will increase more than 41 percent from the 4th quarter of 2007 to the 4th quarter of 2008. This increase comes on top of the 162 percent increase in heating oil prices that occurred between January 2000 and March 2008. Recognizing that prices will continue to rise, many families are trying to be prudent by locking in lower fuel prices. Even now they cannot afford payments. If prices escalate during the winter, the burden will be even greater. An influx of LIHEAP money now will help those families plan ahead and be a more efficient use of federal funds.

In the immediate term, already-high energy costs are putting upward pressure on energy rates. Many utility companies have already or will soon increase their rates. In Virginia, Dominion Power has applied to raise rates 18 percent; in Missouri, AmerenUE asked for a 12.1 percent increase; in Oklahoma, Public Service Co. implemented a 25 percent increase on June 1; and in New York City, Con Edison expects a 13 percent increase this summer on the heels of a 4.7 percent rate increase in April.

Finally, we encourage you to consider assistance to states that were expecting - but will not receive - funding this fiscal year under the LIHEAP Leveraging Incentive Program. This program rewards states for supplementing their federal LIHEAP dollars through acquiring non-federal funds. However, the Department of Health and Human Services determined that the FY2008 Omnibus Appropriations Act (P.L. 110-161) did not authorize them to distribute leveraging grants. Unfortunately, HHS failed to provide adequate notice of this determination to states. As a result, states that planned for this money in their budget will be forced to serve fewer households at this critical time.

For all these reasons, we believe that it is of utmost importance that you release all contingency funds now. Approximately $100 million of the fund will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The other $20 million in the contingency fund - left over from a FY2005 appropriations bill (P.L. 108-447) - does not expire, but we urge you to release it as well, given the clear need.

Thank you for your consideration of this vital issue.