In the News
Union Leader: Heating fuel assistance funding cuts draw ire of Rep. KusterHeating fuel assistance funding cuts draw ire of Rep. Kuster
Nashua, N.H.,
December 10, 2013
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Kimberly Houghton
Since registration began earlier this month, about 30,000 households in New Hampshire have applied for fuel assistance. "The sequestration hit us really hard last year," said Celeste Lovett, fuel assistance program manager at the New Hampshire Office of Energy Planning. Lovett said the program lost more than $1.6 million in funding, which directly affected about 1,200 families in the state. On Monday, Lovett met with Congresswoman Annie Kuster and representatives from Southern New Hampshire Services in Nashua to discuss fund ing cuts to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
NASHUA — Since registration began earlier this month, about 30,000 households in New Hampshire have applied for fuel assistance. On Monday, Lovett met with Congresswoman Annie Kuster and representatives from Southern New Hampshire Services in Nashua to discuss fund ing cuts to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. So far this month, 19,928 households have been certified to receive help from the LIHEAP, although about 10,000 more households have applied and are awaiting eligibility. Kuster said the LIHEAP cuts are leaving low-income families in New Hampshire out in the cold. The sequestration, which has resulted in across-the-board budget cuts, is not an ideal way to budget, she said. "Everyone can agree that there are cuts that can be made elsewhere in the budget," she said. "I am just outraged that Congress cannot find a way to have a rational budget process." Cuts that could be made elsewhere in the budget — rather than cuts to LIHEAP — include subsidies to large corporation farming programs, or savings by negotiating drug prices, according to Kuster. Gale Hennessey, director of SNHS, shared stories about families in southern New Hampshire using their ovens and space heaters as sole sources of heat during the winter months because they cannot afford to fill their fuel tanks. "That is not a safe situation," said Kuster. Ian Prior, spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, responded to Kuster's comments. |