With many Pennsylvanians facing the double whammy of higher heating costs and a sluggish economy, we welcome the news that the state will be kicking $87 million more into its heating assistance program.
Compared to other spending areas, this seems like a bargain that will save lives.
The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program – LIHEAP – will be increased to $280 million this winter from the $193 million funding level a year ago.
“We have never had the kind of challenge we face this winter,” acting State Secretary of Aging Mark Hall said during a gathering last week at the Hiram G. Andrews Center in Upper Yoder Township.
“With the combination of circumstances,” Hall said, “I don’t think I’ve seen in 30 years the challenges I am going to see in the next few months.”
While we push for reining in state spending and reducing the state’s ballooning budget, we do applaud making money available for programs to help those in emergency situations.
As some candidates running for state offices have said, there is more than enough wasteful spending across state government to find funding to support a program such as LIHEAP.
Gov. Ed Rendell announced the increased heating assistance and said the program will now cover families and individuals making up to 210 percent of the federal poverty level. Rendell said a family of four making up to $44,443 a year will be eligible for heating assistance this winter.
In addition, LIHEAP minimum grants will triple from $100 to $300 and crisis grants go from $300 to $800. That means customers needing heating fuel can pay the companies’ minimum delivery cost – a stumbling block in the past.
“The LIHEAP news is remarkable,” caseworker Carl Schultz of Catholic Charities said. “We couldn’t have wished for better news.”
Service workers pointed out that while the law now says electricity companies cannot shut off customers for nonpayment during the winter, the same protection does not exist for fuel oil users.
We applaud the LIHEAP increases.
Helping people get through their toughest times is one thing government can and should do.
