A panel of
top Vermont state officials that tracks fiscal issues has
approved Governor Shumlin’s request for $6.1 million in state money to
make up for cuts in federal heating assistance.
Despite the $11 million in heating assistance to low income
Vermonters announced Tuesday, Congressman Peter Welch says the uncertainty over funding for LIHEAP – the low income home energy assistance program – is not over.
Vermont’s congressional delegation says it will fight to
protect funding for low-income heating assistance. That’s even though President Barack Obama has proposed
slashing by 50 percent the "Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program" – or
LIHEAP.
Vermonters will get a little more heating assistance this winter because the
Obama administration has released a small surplus left over from last year. But the total amount of help people will get this
season is still unclear.
Even though the price of heating oil is much
lower than a year ago, state officials say the demand for Vermont’s low income heating assistance program is growing.