When Democrats successfully got the ANWR provision stripped from the defense
budget on Wednesday, Republicans decided to punish the poor people in the
country by hurting their federal assistance with rising heating prices. This is
brought up by a new
press release
issued by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorites, a non-partisan research
group:

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 /U.S. Newswire/ — A number of Congressional leaders
yesterday incorrectly sought to portray a decision Wednesday to strip $2
billion in heating assistance funds from the defense appropriations bill as
being necessitated by the Senate rejection of oil drilling in the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The facts are clear, however, that the
removal of the Arctic drilling provision had no connection (other than a
political one) to the $2 billion in funding for the Low- income Home Energy
Assistance Program (LIHEAP) this winter and that the decision to remove the
energy assistance funds, made by the Republican Congressional Leadership,
was not necessitated by the dropping of the ANWR provision, according to a
new analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The defense appropriations bill contained two provisions related to
LIHEAP funding. One would have provided $2 billion in additional funding for
LIHEAP this winter. The second provision would, starting in 2008, have
dedicated to LIHEAP a small percentage of federal receipts from the Arctic
drilling. The second LIHEAP provision was tied to the oil drilling. The
first provision was not. The Congressional Leadership elected to strip out
both of the LIHEAP provisions when the ANWR provision was removed from the
bill, a step that was unnecessary with regard to the $2 billion in funding
for this winter. For a further discussion of this matter, see the CBPP
analysis “Senate Cuts LIHEAP Funding,” December 22, 2005: http://www.cbpp.org/12-22-
05bud.pdf.

Several Republican leaders yesterday made statements that incorrectly
claimed the removal of the ANWR provision necessitated the removal of the $2
billion in LIHEAP funds. The Harrisburg Patriot-News reported that a
spokesman for Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), the chair of the Senate Republican
Conference, told the newspaper that “Democrats stripped out the $2 billion
in LIHEAP money because it would have been funded by revenues from oil
drilling in ANWR.” The claim that the $2 billion in funding for this winter
would have been financed by revenues from oil drilling is false.

Similarly, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Finance
Committee, was quoted in the Des Moines Register as saying that when the
drilling provision was defeated, it took away the means to pay for the
increase in utility assistance. And Senator Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), chairman of
the Senate Budget Committee, was quoted in the Boston Globe as saying that
the only way Congress could have found extra money for the heating
assistance program was through a new revenue source such as selling leases
to the drilling rights in the Arctic refuge. These statements are equally
misinformed.

Confusion on LIHEAP Funding Extends to Budget Reconciliation Bill

A final misstatement came yesterday from a spokesman for House Speaker J.
Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). The spokesman attacked Senate Democrats for
delaying passage of a separate piece of legislation — the budget
reconciliation bill that would cut Medicaid, student loans, child support
enforcement, and other programs — by securing the removal on procedural
grounds of a few small provisions from the bill and thus necessitating
another vote on the bill in the House. The Hastert spokesman, Ron Bonjean,
said this action would delay the provision of money to help low-income
families pay their heating bills. This statement, as well, has no basis in
fact. The only money for heating assistance contained in the budget
reconciliation bill is funding for 2007. The bill is drafted so that none of
those funds could be distributed this winter.

This full analysis is available at: http://www.cbpp.org/12-23-05bud.pdf.

For additional information on the $2 billion in funding for the
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program that was dropped by Congress on
Wednesday, December 21, visit http://www.cbpp.org/12-22-05bud.pdf.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is a nonprofit, nonpartisan
research organization and policy institute that conducts research and
analysis on a range of government policies and programs. It is supported
primarily by foundation grants.

Its not really shocking that the Republicans would decide to hurt the poor
because they didn’t get what they wanted. It is even more disgusting that they
turn around and lie about it. Nice Christmas spirit they have there.