Congressman Mike Michaud has sent a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees urging them to restore funding to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) as they work on a final appropriations package for Fiscal Year 2012. Michaud's letter features a few of the many stories he received from Mainers by email and through his Facebook page detailing how important LIHEAP is to them, their families and their communities.

"With fuel prices on the rise and a stubborn economic recovery, this is absolutely the wrong time to be cutting back on this critical assistance," said Michaud. "I asked Mainers to send me these stories because the real world impacts of funding decisions sometimes get lost on many in Washington. I'm hopeful my colleagues will listen to those they represent and do the right thing."

The full text of the letter.

November 10, 2011

Dear Chairman Rogers, Ranking Member Dicks, Chairman Inouye, and Ranking Member Cochran:

As the House and Senate work on a final appropriations package for FY2012, I urge you to restore funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

As winter draws closer, individuals and families throughout Maine have contacted my office asking how Congress could consider cutting LIHEAP. Many of them do not know how they and their loved ones are going to make it through the winter. A resident of Millinocket writes:

I am a disabled widow who lives from Social Security disability. I was denied fuel assistance and also denied a discount on my electric bill. My electric bill with the discount averages $125 per month. Last year my home used 1600 gallons of oil and I was not warm. Heating oil, as you know in my area is creeping towards $3.75 and most likely will be more than $4.00 per gallon this winter. My concern is for others as well as myself. With gas as expensive as it is many of us are prisoners in our own homes as well. My father who lives in Stratton Maine has thermostats in each room and barricades himself into his bedroom all winter, only using heat in that room. I have a friend here in Millinocket that has blankets up on doorways to close off the cold from other rooms other than her living room. This is very disappointing and depressing for many.

The economy is still struggling. In Maine, oil prices have risen by nearly $1 a gallon over the last year. Even if funding for LIHEAP remained flat, it would be difficult to help everyone that truly needs it. A couple from Brewer that was eligible for assistance last year is ineligible this year despite no change in circumstances:

With the cut-backs on LIHEAP funding, our family was found ineligible (we were eligible last year and nothing has changed). My husband is disabled and has been battling cancer for the past year. I am unemployed due to my company going bankrupt and closing all US stores. I am on my final phase of unemployment. We have less than 1/8th of a barrel of fuel and do not know what to do to heat the house and keep my husband from getting sick (his immune system is low due to the chemotherapy and radiation therapy). My husband is willing to talk to anyone to make them understand what the hardships the LIHEAP cut-backs have caused families. Putting a face to the problem is sometimes better than just stories. Please help us heat our house this winter. Thank you for your time and for listening.

Mainers know that LIHEAP is a necessary program that helps our most vulnerable populations. These are just a few of the comments that I received through my Facebook page in support of this critically important program:

My parents have been helped in the past but were told that this year they would not be getting any help. My mother is 85 and my 86 year old dad is a WWII US Marine veteran. They desperately need the assistance.

Our elderly and disabled need these services! These individuals have been productive members of society but with the rising costs of fuel prices, they can't keep up.

Right now, with the way energy prices are, a lot of people in Maine wouldn't be able to heat their homes without the assistance of LIHEAP. I have used LIHEAP and so has my mother, as well as a number of my friends. This is a program we need, because without, the consequences would be very, very harmful to the people of Maine.

Mike, I haven't used the fund. However, I know people here in Maine that have, with such a large percentage of Mainers heating with oil, it's no wonder. Today I see that oil has gone up over 90 a barrel. In Winthrop, we have raised money by donating the returnable bottles to use that money to help people out. This is America, it's our duty to assist those in true need, and the needy population is increasing everyday with this economy.

I hope that hearing firsthand from the Mainers that depend on LIHEAP will show you how important it is that we restore funding for the program. I look forward to working with you to make sure that families in Maine and throughout the country have the assistance they need this winter.

Sincerely,

Michael H. Michaud Member of Congress