The Warmth of Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI)
Today our local paper had a story about a program that benefits a lot of folks up here in Rhode Island during the winter months: LIHEAP. The Low-income Home Energy Assistance Program was on the chopping block, because Bush didn't feel that keeping poor Americans from freezing deserved the same resources as a week spent chasing our tails in the bloody quagmire of Iraq. Fortunately our Senior Senator, Jack Reed, was on the case.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
By Timothy C. Barmann,Journal Staff Writer
By Timothy C. Barmann,Journal Staff Writer
Despite a prediction of record winter heating costs, congressional leaders and White House officials have agreed to allocate roughly the same amount of money as last year for federal heating assistance.
The agreement, which was contained in a bill expected to be voted on by the House last night, would provide a total of $2.57 billion in funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, according to Sen. Jack Reed....
The agreement, which was contained in a bill expected to be voted on by the House last night, would provide a total of $2.57 billion in funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, according to Sen. Jack Reed....
Even though the money won’t go as far this year, Reed said, the agreement to provide $2.57 billion was a victory of sorts, because President Bush’s budget had called for funding of $1.8 billion.
“We have prevented the president from gutting the program,” Reed said in an interview. “His intent was to cut it back dramatically and we prevented that.
“We’ve got the opportunity now to at least maintain the basic grant, and also go after contingency funding. This is a battle we fight year in and year out.”
Reed said the agreement was reached after four or five days of “sensitive negotiations” between the House leadership, the Senate leadership and the White House.
Reed said he and Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, have been lobbying for increased funding for the federal heating assistance program. They weighed in with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, during the negotiations, Reed said.
He said he doesn’t expect any major changes in the bill by either the House or the Senate.
“This deal is one of these things, if you pull out one of the cards, it might collapse,” Reed said.
Assuming the bill passes both chambers and is signed by the president, Reed said, he’ll press forward on getting the president to release the contingency money.
“We’ll make the case relentlessly that higher prices and colder weather requires the president to release the contingency funding,” Reed said.
“We have prevented the president from gutting the program,” Reed said in an interview. “His intent was to cut it back dramatically and we prevented that.
“We’ve got the opportunity now to at least maintain the basic grant, and also go after contingency funding. This is a battle we fight year in and year out.”
Reed said the agreement was reached after four or five days of “sensitive negotiations” between the House leadership, the Senate leadership and the White House.
Reed said he and Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, have been lobbying for increased funding for the federal heating assistance program. They weighed in with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, during the negotiations, Reed said.
He said he doesn’t expect any major changes in the bill by either the House or the Senate.
“This deal is one of these things, if you pull out one of the cards, it might collapse,” Reed said.
Assuming the bill passes both chambers and is signed by the president, Reed said, he’ll press forward on getting the president to release the contingency money.
“We’ll make the case relentlessly that higher prices and colder weather requires the president to release the contingency funding,” Reed said.
Thank goodness we still have some decent folks left in D.C., like Sen. Jack Reed, who continue to fight the good fight in determining the priorities of this wealthy nation. Warmth, not warmongering, we could say in the case of Sen. Jack Reed, who continues to be one of Cheney/Bush's toughest critics on Iraq.
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