Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2005

DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2005 -- (House of Representatives - September 08, 2004)

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 754 and rule XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union for the consideration of the bill, H.R. 5006.

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Mr. BRADLEY of New Hampshire. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment of the gentleman from Vermont, and thank also the chairman, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula), for his support of LIHEAP funding, both in this budget and in the past. However, given the recent run-up in the cost of all kinds of petroleum products, gasoline, to say nothing of natural gas and the price of oil, this is a very important issue for all of us in the Northeast and in the cold-weather States.

Before I became a Member of Congress, I served in the New Hampshire legislature, and I chaired the committee that dealt with all of the energy issues, so I know firsthand how important LIHEAP funding on a Federal basis is for all of the cold-weather States. We have seen over the last several years the price of natural gas increase by over 50 percent, the price of oil by 45 percent, propane by 40 percent; and it is going to cost, Mr. Chairman, over $1,000 to heat an average home this winter with natural gas, oil, and propane. So this modest amount of money, $22 million, which would come out of overhead and administration, is very important to my region of the country, and I ask my colleagues to support this amendment.

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