Congress Should Fund Energy
Assistance for the Poor

By Lt. Colonel, Paul E. Bollwahn, ACSW, CSWM — The Salvation Army
July 6, 1999

This commentary by Lt. Colonel Paul E. Bollwahn, National Social Services Consultant for The Salvation Army, was sent to 300 newspaper editorial page editors nationwide:

If the House of Representatives sticks to its budget caps, funding for labor, health and human services would be cut from the current $89.2 billion to $78.1 billion. Among the casualties would be the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, one of the nation’s most important social safety net programs.

Last year, the House appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over LIHEAP voted to eliminate the program — a decision that helped to cause the budgetary "trainwreck" in October. Only eleventh-hour negotiations saved LIHEAP for FY 1999. A closer look at LIHEAP funding demonstrates how it directly affects many other human needs.

Homelessness. Lack of affordable housing was identified as a major cause of homelessness in 23 of 30 survey cities in a study conducted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors in December 1998.

Philadelphia saw a 22 percent increase in 1998 in requests from its food banks and a 17 percent increase in families seeking housing from city shelters, Mayor Ed Rendell said.
St. Paul housing inspectors, called to a unit without basic facilities such as electricity, water, heat, activate a special "House Calls" team to work with the occupants and to restore the basic services and thereby avoid a building condemnation with the subsequent "vacating of the building."

Food. Low-paying jobs and high housing costs were the leading causes of hunger, according to the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ 30-city survey.
Salvation Army front-line caseworkers in Florida report some families saying "we can’t afford food — rent and utilities must come first." That’s why we make the rounds for meals and groceries.

The Second Harvest Food Bank in Nashville says that during weather extremes, people usually pay their utility bills first and then buy food.

Welfare to Work. Twenty-two percent of the homeless are employed in full- or part-time jobs, said the U.S. Conference of Mayors survey. "Of the households receiving LIHEAP assistance, 60 percent rely on earned income for their support," said Crisis Assistance Ministry of Charlotte, NC.

In Louisville, 49 percent of those staying in emergency shelters are employed but unable to make enough money to pay for, food, shelter, medical care, etc.

Childhood Education. A 1994 study of 231 Head Start families in Missouri found that 41 percent of frequent-mover households listed unaffordable heating bills as a very important factor contributing to their most recent move. The General Accounting Office and other studies have cited the educational disruptions caused by children who change schools frequently as a serious problem.

The study concludes: "Federal funding decisions which place fuel assistance in competition with education programs create a false need to choose. Decreasing LIHEAP in the name of increasing educational opportunity through increased education funding may be counter-productive."

Children in Foster Care. Absence of utilities in a house is cause in many states for children being moved to foster care. In the United States, families are the fastest growing homeless group. And in St. Louis, up to 5,500 children are living on the streets, in shelters, with relatives or friends or in dangerous uninhabitable places (US COM survey). In 53 percent of the survey cities, families may have to break up in order to be accommodated in emergency shelters.

Health. Salvation Army caseworkers report that many elderly people reduce medication levels in order to pay energy bills. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, approximately 60,000 lives are lost annually by problems associated with cold weather including fires, carbon monoxide poisoning, pneumonia, hypothermia, influenza and other infectious diseases.

Fires. When families wish to remain in their homes after one or two utilities have been terminated, they will be resourceful and burn bulk fuels: wood, kerosine, propane or coal. These heating systems put families at higher risk than central heating systems using electricity or natural gas.

A recent National Fire Protection Association report said heating equipment remains the leading cause of fires in one- and two-family dwellings. While total home heating fires have fallen by 70% from 1980 to 1996, portable heater fires have risen by 24%, though they are down substantially from their peak in 1985.

The House leadership should study the broad benefits of LIHEAP and the risks associated with its loss before cutting this vital program. LIHEAP is one of the programs that assists the goals of welfare reform by helping to stabilize families.