What is government doing to relieve the burden of high energy prices?
The federal government provides limited help through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to low-income families struggling to stay warm during the winter. But this assistance reaches only 16% of eligible families, providing heating and cooling assistance to 5.6 million households annually. Two years ago, when millions of households sought relief from rising energy prices, Congress decreased LIHEAP funding from $3.16 billion in 2006 to $2.16 billion in 2007. The federal government proposed 2008 LIHEAP funding at $2.57 billion. A slight increase but still not enough to offset the higher heating costs. According to the 2007 Home Energy Affordability Gap report “actual low-income energy bills exceeded affordability by $4 billion” based on 2005-2006 heating oil prices.
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