The six New England governors presented a united front Wednesday in lobbying Congress on behalf of low-income households that might have trouble paying their heating bills this winter.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and his five counterparts, fearing a cut of up to 50 percent in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, wrote a letter to House and Senate leaders asking that funding be kept as its authorized level of $5.1 billion.
"If LIHEAP funding in FY2012 is reduced to the level of $2.57 billion, our states will be required to take drastic measures that will endanger the most vulnerable LIHEAP households," the governors wrote.
They noted that the Northeast has especially high home heating bills because it has long winters and its fuel costs are higher than the national average. "Households in our states are more likely to be dependent on expensive delivered fuels, such as home heating oil or propane," they wrote.
Monday, anticipating less federal aid, the Malloy administration announced that home-heating assistance in Connecticut will focus on dwellings heated by oil, not by gas or electricity. It noted that state law prohibits gas and electric companies from using non-payment of bills as a reason to end service to customers from Nov. 1 to May 1.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and his five counterparts, fearing a cut of up to 50 percent in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, wrote a letter to House and Senate leaders asking that funding be kept as its authorized level of $5.1 billion.
"If LIHEAP funding in FY2012 is reduced to the level of $2.57 billion, our states will be required to take drastic measures that will endanger the most vulnerable LIHEAP households," the governors wrote.
They noted that the Northeast has especially high home heating bills because it has long winters and its fuel costs are higher than the national average. "Households in our states are more likely to be dependent on expensive delivered fuels, such as home heating oil or propane," they wrote.
Monday, anticipating less federal aid, the Malloy administration announced that home-heating assistance in Connecticut will focus on dwellings heated by oil, not by gas or electricity. It noted that state law prohibits gas and electric companies from using non-payment of bills as a reason to end service to customers from Nov. 1 to May 1.