PRINTER'S NO. 1071
No. 150 Session of 2003
INTRODUCED BY SOLOBAY, WASHINGTON, GEORGE, DeWEESE, COSTA,
DALEY, BELARDI, BELFANTI, BUXTON, CAWLEY, COY, BEBKO-JONES,
BISHOP, BARRAR, CAPPELLI, GRUCELA, JAMES, KELLER, KOTIK,
LAUGHLIN, LEACH, LEDERER, LESCOVITZ, LEVDANSKY, MANN, McCALL,
McGEEHAN, MELIO, MUNDY, READSHAW, ROEBUCK, SAINATO,
SCRIMENTI, STABACK, SURRA, TANGRETTI, TIGUE, TRAVAGLIO,
WALKO, WANSACZ, WHEATLEY, WOJNAROSKI, YOUNGBLOOD, HENNESSEY
AND CURRY, MARCH 19, 2003
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON RULES, MARCH 19, 2003
A RESOLUTION
1 Urging the Department of Public Welfare to reconsider its
2 decision to earmark contingency funds for the Low Income Home
3 Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for households that heat
4 with deliverable fuels.
5 WHEREAS, On January 24, 2003, the President of the United
6 States directed the release of $200 million of LIHEAP
7 contingency funds to assist eligible households with the high
8 cost of home heating this winter; and
9 WHEREAS, Pennsylvania's share of those contingency funds
10 amounted to more than $16 million, of which the Department of
11 Public Welfare has earmarked in excess of $14 million for
12 additional LIHEAP crisis grants to eligible households; and
13 WHEREAS, The Department of Public Welfare has allocated
14 virtually all of the $14 million for crisis grants to households
15 that heat with deliverable fuels such as oil, propane, coal and
16 wood, to the exclusion of households that heat with regulated
1 utility fuels such as natural gas and electricity; and
2 WHEREAS, The harsh winter and the high cost of home heating
3 has affected all households, regardless of the type of fuel
4 used, and low-income households using regulated utility fuels
5 are likely to experience an increase in arrearages owed to their
6 utility providers and face service termination; and
7 WHEREAS, Additional crisis grant money benefits all low-
8 income households equally, irrespective of whether household
9 heat comes from deliverable fuels or from a utility; therefore
10 be it
11 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge the
12 Department of Public Welfare to reconsider its decision to deny
13 LIHEAP contingency funds to households that heat with regulated
14 utility fuels.
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