Posted on 09/30/2005 8:22:32 AM PDT by SheLion
AUGUSTA - A legislative panel learned Thursday the Baldacci administration is preparing for fuel shortages and considering emergency state allocations to help prop up programs that provide relief from rising heating oil costs.
The Legislature's Appropriations Committee also was informed of shortfalls within one of the state's most popular heating programs that provides financial assistance to Maine's poorest residents.
Dale McCormick, director of the Maine State Housing Authority, asked lawmakers to consider an emergency funding request of $10.2 million from the state's General Fund to bolster insufficient federal revenues.
"This is not going to be a good year for Maine citizens who depend on the Low Income Heating and Energy Assistance Program, otherwise known as LIHEAP, to ease the financial burden of buying fuel," she said.
In a related development, Gov. John E. Baldacci joined a group of 28 governors Thursday who signed a letter to congressional appropriators in Washington in support of a request for an additional $1.276 billion of emergency funding for LIHEAP. Baldacci emphasized that many families and businesses in Maine are facing difficult times as fuel prices rise. He said the cost of heating oil this year is nearly 60 percent higher than last winter, and a surge of applications is expected for the heating assistance.
"Congress must recognize that covering dramatic increases in natural gas and heating oil prices will pose an immense challenge for our citizens as winter arrives," the governors said in the letter. "Therefore, we encourage you to give strong consideration to the above requests."
McCormick said Maine's LIHEAP program served 46,450 families in 2004 compared to 45,000 families the previous year. The fuel assistance benefit averaged $478 in 2004 compared to $440 in 2003. Immediate emergency fuel benefits were extended in 2004 to 4,475 people under the program and averaged $232 per household. McCormick said the average household income for the LIHEAP participants in 2004 was $12,062.
Because of skyrocketing fuel costs and anticipated increased demand for benefits under the program, McCormick estimated that last year's $478 average benefit will drop to $420 without state intervention.
"I would urge you to consider a state appropriation for [$10.2 million] and what that would do upfront is to allow us to increase the base benefit," she said. "There is a chance that the federal government will allocate emergency appropriations to LIHEAP. If they do, that can be taken into consideration as well."
Jeff Green of the state Department of Health and Human Services said increased fuel costs were seriously jeopardizing two programs designed to get the department's clients to appointments. Volunteers who help transport the poor to and from medical visits, and friends and family who also assist state clients, are finding they no longer can honor their obligations.
"We're in a situation now where some providers told me this morning that they are literally down to zero volunteers who are willing to provide transportation services - they have no volunteers left that are providing that service," Green said.
Anticipating increased costs as state clients turn to taxis to provide the service once offered by volunteers, Green said the administration is proposing a rule change to increase volunteers' reimbursement per mile from 30 cents to 44 cents. Friends and family reimbursement would increase from 15 cents to 22 cents a mile.
"So compared to the cost of doing nothing, the cost of making the rate changes that we're talking about here will be approximately $1 million," Green said. "We plan to go ahead with this and we will [seek a] supplementary appropriation when the Legislature convenes."
Upon hearing from volunteers in Aroostook County that the Department of Health and Human Services was paying to transport children taken by the state for visits with their parents while telling those who need transportation for kidney dialysis or cancer radiation treatments that resources are drying up, Rep. Jeremy Fischer, D-Presque Isle, suggested the department should start prioritizing.
"Is it time to say that we're not going to do as much visitation stuff?" Fischer asked. "We're not delivering kids halfway across the state. The parents ought to be responsible for coming to visit their kids, no matter where the courts have put them, instead of just spending more money."
Green said Fischer's observations represented an "important policy question" that would "require further discussion" by the department.
Beth Nagusky, director of Maine's Office of Energy Independence and Security, said her agency was having tremendous success with state programs such as Operation Keep Maine Warm, which is expected to deliver winter weatherization services to 3,000 homes.
Still, with the statewide average cost of heating oil hovering at $2.49 a gallon and severely diminished refining capacity as a result of Hurricane Katrina, Nagusky said it was necessary for her agency to join forces with the state Department of Transportation and the Maine Public Utilities Commission to monitor all available fuel supplies.
"I don't want to have to overstate the case, but I do have to tell you that there are concerns about fuel supplies this winter - particularly natural gas, and because natural gas fuels 40 percent of electricity generation, [it] has raised concerns about electricity supplies," she said.
Chill Brrrrrrrrrrrrr Ping.............
Yep! hehe!
Harumph...
Thats what happens when you live in a place that has summer on July 4th and winter the rest of the year. [j/k]
If we can rebuild NO, we can certainly keep the poor and elderly from freezing or carbon-monoxiding themselves to death.
And why should I care when people chose to live in such a cold part of the country?..(sarcasm tag for those who don't understand sarcasm)
The American public is going to be very surpised to wake up one day this fall or winter and find out there's an immediate shortage. The MSM is too busy on its New Orleans witchhunt to inform the public on the coming energy crisis.
No, we're not DOOOOOMED, but now's a good time to start budgeting for some nasty winter gasoline and heating bills....
I think I'll hire someone to take down a few trees on my property and stock up.
I agree, and we shouldn't spend a dime on people who live in flood zones when they get flooed either. Not to mention people in California who live aon a fault line......:)
You have to leave my sarcasm tag on when copying my statement. I don't need to get flamed from those who don't realize I was being sarcastic. But while we are at it, I grew up in Oklahoma with tornados. I don't know why they should be left off the list.
OK blog searchers, need some help on this. How about we investigate the Kennedy family on this one. When Joe Kennedy left congress some years back it was noted he was going to run the family program, funded by the government to maintain heating oil at a low cost so in the event of a situation like this it could be released at a low cost to solve the problem.
The government pumps millions into the family for this so maybe someone can search the archives and pinpoint the story and we can get it surfaced.
Agreed, and all those people who get heat stroke in places like Chicago.
PLEASE NOTE, TXBubba and 1OldPro are ingaged in totally SARCASTIC bantor.
Isn't RFK Jr. involved in some sort of heating co-op?
If I recall correctly the entire Kennedy clan foundation has fingers in the pie that is why I need some background help by the group to get this info. I know the kennedy family and its subsiderities make hundreds of millions of tax dollars for many projects they "manage".
And it has been fun! Gotta run now though.
bookmark
An old Texas folk song goes, Freeeeezzzzze a Yankee, Drive 75 and freeze'em alive!!!!!!!!!! Those states with refineries and oil & gas rigs need to have a separation tax as the product leaves the state. Freeze'em alive and tax'em high!!!!!!!!!
heating oil sahould be illegal. Jimmy Carter told those people to convert their furnaces 30 years ago. Unlike autos, there are many other ways to heat houses, and there is time to throw up a windmill farm in Maine for this year. How is it that the so-called progressives of the NE are the least progressive in the country when it comes to enrgy?
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