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Corman's Efforts Add Nearly $25 Million to LIHEAP Program
Funding Targeted to Low
Income Families Facing Increased Heating Costs This Winter
HARRISBURG -- Sen.
Jake Corman's (R-34) long-time efforts to supplement Federal Low Income Energy
Assistance (LIHEAP) Program funding with state funding was met with unanimous
support today in the state House of Representatives and is headed to the
Governor for his signature.
“With this action we acted
proactively and supplemented this year's federal LIHEAP funding before a crisis
in Pennsylvania occurred,” Corman said.
Concerned that rapidly
rising home fuel prices could put poor families at risk this winter, Senator
Jake Corman successfully amended House Bill 1539 on November 22, 2005 to add
$24.6 million in state funding to the federally funded LIHEAP program by
redirecting 1.0 mills of the Pennsylvania Gross Receipts Tax to the Emergency
Energy Assistance Fund, which will go toward low-income family's home heating
costs this winter.
Today, the state House of
Representatives agreed with Corman's amended House Bill 1539.
Corman said that with the
recent weather-related catastrophes that have hit the United States and the
predicted increases in the price of home heating energies, predominately home
heating oil and natural gas, the current federal funding of LIHEAP will produce
much less assistance than was anticipated.
Corman noted that prior to
his efforts to add Pennsylvania funding to LIHEAP, Pennsylvania has $21 million
less in federal LIHEAP funding this year than it had in 2004-2005, meaning that
it would serve approximately 25,000 fewer low-income households. However, with
today's action in the Senate, Pennsylvania has more funding for LIHEAP this
winter than last year.
“Acting too late would have
done little to help those families who won't qualify for LIHEAP assistance if we
had done nothing,” said Corman. “We averted an emergency that would have
affected the health, safety and welfare of many Pennsylvanians and I am pleased
we were able to solve this issue with bipartisan support.”
During the 2004-05 winter,
340,447 Pennsylvania households received LIHEAP cash assistance, including 2,157
in Centre County, 2,096 in Mifflin County, 653 in Juniata County, 1,108 in Perry
County and 757 in Union County.
The Federally funded Low
Income Home Energy Assistance Program helps pay winter heating bills of
low-income and elderly people. It is administered in Pennsylvania by the
Department of Public Welfare. Sen. Jake Corman is chairman of the Senate Public
Health & Welfare Committee. In September of this year, Corman wrote to the
Governor and suggested he immediately use Rainy Day Funds to supplement LIHEAP.
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