The government shows heating oil prices up more than 20% this winter over last winter--from about $200/gallon to $240/gallon. That doesn't sound so bad, but in 2003-2004, 2002-2003, the cost was in the $140-$160/gallon range, and if you go back further to the days of cheap oil it was $120/gallon and lower.
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/ftparea/wogirs/xls/pswc3vwall.xls
Now, back before Chavez started playing Lady Bountiful with heating oil to the poor masses of the northeast corridor, the federal government was proposing actual absolute cuts to LIHEAP funding. This is despite a near doubling in costs of heating oil. It doesn't take a math degree to see the effects of even holding the price steady.
Doing a web search, it appears that 10 days ago Bush buckled and allocated an additional $1.7 billion in home heating assistance. For better or for worse, it looks like Chavez made him blink.