Obama budget proposal slashes LIHEAP funds

[cali]

<snip>

Spending on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program would be reduced to $2.97 billion in the fiscal 2014 spending package that President Obama unveiled April 10.

It’s the latest reduction in LIHEAP funding, which has remained set at $3.4 billion since fiscal 2012. That’s down from $5.1 billion in fiscal 2010.

The news came as a huge disappointment at a time when more than 100 program advocates were taking part in the annual LIHEAP Action Day in the nation’s capital.

<snip>

NFFN had been seeking at least $4.7 billion for LIHEAP in the new fiscal year and had launched a social media blitz to get its message out.

<snip>

http://www.ect.coop/public-policy-watch/legislation/obama-administration-cuts-liheap-funding-again/54857

[truebrit71]

1. Countdown to the apologist defense in 4...3...2...

....How progressive of the President....Again....

[Autumn]

2. And the hits just keep on coming.

rec

[xxqqqzme]

87. Kiss the senate and congress

good-bye in 2014.

[Nite Owl]

3. A budget shows the moral

intent of the administration and this is so cruel. It's like we are all easy marks while the corporations and very wealthy get off scott free to enjoy the benefits of our sacrifice.

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

17. But, but, but if we tak eon the corporations...to big to fail...

everybody loses...wouldn't it be better if the little guy take a hair cut so that in the long run he is stronger??

[kenny blankenship]

4. Bright side: Seniors won't have to choose between heating and food anymore

since they won't be able to afford either. It's the choice that really torments us. True to his pledge, Obama makes the "hard choices" so you don't have to!

[myrna minx]

11. You know, I'd laugh if I wasn't crying.

[RKP5637]

26. Next will be a gov. offered voucher on affordable caskets for the poor, the old and the sick. n/t

[kenny blankenship]

52. Voucher? That sounds a lot like freeloading to me!

No sir, if you have lived beyond your means, it is not the US Treasury's obligation to assist you in dying beyond them as well. The generous offer of the New Market State is this: your coffin shall be repossessed by your outraged creditors, your children shall inherit your debts, and the rest you may leave to a charity of your choice.

[RKP5637]

68. ... or possibly "Soylent Green!" Donate now, feed the worlds' hungry and impoverished! n/t

[russspeakeasy]

57. When wealthy people buy refrigerators,

the dead poor get the boxes.

[RKP5637]

5. The messages I get are if you are poor, fuck you. If old, go die! n/t

[forestpath]

10. +1000

[whathehell]

19. Yep, that's about it....Nice message from our supposed "Democratic" president, huh?

Come 2016, lets not get fooled again.

[RKP5637]

21. I'm really fed up with jumping up and down for Obama right or wrong. Yep, he's done

some really really good things, but overall, IMO, when it comes to $$$$$ often R = D.

What many Americans don't get IMO, is they are on the threshold of poverty longterm. For most, their wages are laughable, their safety nets are failing, most have pennies saved for retirement and by the time they wake up it will be too late.

We look at other nations and say, wow, are they propagandized.

It's time for most Americans to look inward to the US and recognize, wow, this is a propagandized nation.

Without going off the deep end ... the story of the wolf in sheep's clothing comes to mind.

[whathehell]

93. Okay.

But what he's doing now is unprecedently BAD for a supposedly "democratic" president

He's really given the game away..Perhaps in that narrow sense, he's done us a favor.

[liberal N proud]

6. I have to say, I never expected to see this from a Democratically elected President

I am so disappointed and disheartened in the way things are turning out with this Administration. There was such potential, such hope. Now I just feel like a dope.

I don't have too many rungs left that can be pulled out from under me. I had a secure job, and although I survived the downsizing, not without losing my sense of security that I had for 29 years. Part of that downsize, they took away our Pensions and some of our vacation. I expect that I will probably lose my job in the next two years if I don't find something else first.

Now we are watching them take away those benefits that we have earned from the government. It is all collapsing just as it becomes too late in life to take any recovery measures that will amount to anything.

They say that people are working longer yet companies kick people out that reach 55 or older.

What the hell do they expect us to live on?

[RKP5637]

27. The country is collapsing for "we the people." Many Americans still don't get what is

going on as "we the oligarchs" continue to rise. People need to look under the D, R and I label to see what's there.

[Le Taz Hot]

7. That's really sad.

During the time my husband was out of work for so long, we qualified for the LIHEAP program. They came out and insulated the walls of our house, gave us CFL bulbs, smoke detectors, CO detectors and a couple of energy-efficient lamps. It's significantly reduced our monthly energy cost so there is an ongoing savings.

This is a program that actually works, has benefited many AND helps the environment, so, of COURSE they'll cut funding.

[forestpath]

9. They can burn catfood labels to keep warm.

[IDemo]

15. Let them eat Global Warming

[ProSense]

12. "That’s down from $5.1 billion in fiscal 2010. "

"It’s the latest reduction in LIHEAP funding, which has remained set at $3.4 billion since fiscal 2012. That’s down from $5.1 billion in fiscal 2010."

So the President was more supportive in 2010?

No, this happens every year. The President presents his budget to Congress with the requested funding levels, and every year Congress tweaks it.

[Armstead]

13. As I read it this is HIS budget proposal...Not what has gone through Congress

[ProSense]

14. ? n/t

[Armstead]

23. You passed the buck to Congress. But this is the buck he is starting with as his proposed budget.

[ProSense]

31. The President's budget isn't

"You passed the buck to Congress. But this is the buck he is starting with as his proposed budget."

...a law until Congress approves one. I "passed the buck to Congress"? It's their job to pass legislation. Still, you're upset that Congress approved more funding that the President requested?

[truebrit71]

33. Let me $pell it out for $o that it make$ $en$e to you...this is OBAMA'S proposal...

...do you understand that? OBAMA ONCE AGAIN PROPOSED CUTTING LIHEAP FOR THE NEEDY....


$$$$$$pin that....

[ProSense]

34. Save the caps, because you clearly

don't understand the simple point I'm making.

[truebrit71]

37. Ye$, actually I do...

...but why don't you explain to the re$t of the cla$$ how Obama fucking the poor AGAIN I$ a good thing...

[ProSense]

38. How about

"Ye$, actually I do...but why don't you explain to the re$t of the cla$$ how Obama fucking the poor AGAIN I$ a good thing..."

....you stating that in English and pointing to where the fuck I said anything remotely similiar to "Obama fucking the poor AGAIN I$ a good thing"?

You have no fucking clue what my point is. You are having trouble understanding a simple fucking point. It's not my fucking fault.

How's that?

[truebrit71]

41. Plea$e explain what you're fucking point i$?

President Obama presents a budget that cuts Liheap AGAIN, and you jump to his defense AGAIN...

Did I mi$$ anything?

[bvar22]

42. Nice deconstruction, demolition and dismemberment.

The issue is Crystal Clear to everyone reading this thread despite the attempted smokescreen.

[Armstead]

40. I don't understand the simple point you are making because you are deflecting.

If Obama put this in his proposed budget, then how is it the responsibility of anyone but him? Congress has not gotten their hands on it yet.

If it is in HIS budget proposal, do you agree with it or disagree with it? Do YOU think he should be proposing cuts in heating assistance or not?

Simple question that does not require an enigmatic answer.

On edit -- Since you are referring to several years do YOU think his proposing reduced funds is good or not?

[ProSense]

50. The President

"I don't understand the simple point you are making because you are deflecting."

...proposed budget is always tweaked by Congress. Members of Congress spend months debating the budget. The President previously proposed cuts to LIHEAP.

EXCLUSIVE: White House to Cut Energy Assistance for the Poor
http://www.nationaljournal.com/whitehouse/exclusive-obama-to-cut-energy-assistance-for-the-poor-20110209

Here was the justification.

Bring Cost of LIHEAP Down to Previous Levels. During this period of tough budget choices, the President’s Budget provides $2.57 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to help struggling families make ends meet by offsetting some of their home heating and cooling costs. The Budget does not re-propose the creation of a LIHEAP funding trigger included in previous budget requests. The LIHEAP program doubled in FY 2009 following an energy spike, but energy prices are now significantly lower, and the prior level is no longer sustainable. The 50 percent funding reduction brings funding back to the level before the energy price spike. The Administration will continue to monitor energy prices going forward and will be willing to revisit program needs if there are significant price increases

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x611473
Clearly, there hasn't been a 50 percent reduction since the stimulus increase in 2009.



http://liheap.ncat.org/Funding/lhemhist.htm

[truebrit71]

54. So he's suggesting cuts in LIHEAP again.....which is what the OP says...and you continue to defend..

So, for the learning impaired: President Obama, NOT Congress, is once again proposing that the poor have their heating allowance cut...and you continue to deflect and defend...

[ProSense]

59. Yes, "he's suggesting cuts in LIHEAP again"

...and Congress will likely reject them, again.

Was that so hard to understand?

[truebrit71]

61. And if they don't too bad, right?

That's the problem when you play chicken with people's lives, if you get it wrong, REAL people get hurt...

This isn't some inside-the-beltway bullshit parlor game, this is REAL life...

And as a Democrat he should be the LAST person offering up a part of the safety net as a bargaining chip...That should be the LAST chip on the table, NOT the first...you know, just like Chained CPI and Medicare "improvements"...

[Armstead]

56. But you still haven't answered my question

Energy prices are still quite high and in the shitty economy there are more people in need of assistance. (I have a friend who works with the distribution of LIHEAP funds, and they are under real pressure.)

Do YOU think a Democratic administration should be reducing a program that many people NEED to heat their homes?

[ProSense]

63. Actually, I did

"Energy prices are still quite high and in the shitty economy there are more people in need of assistance. (I have a friend who works with the distribution of LIHEAP funds, and they are under real pressure.)"

OK, but that doesn't change the fact that the President proposed cuts in the past.

"Do YOU think a Democratic administration should be reducing a program that many people NEED to heat their homes?"

No, and that still doesn't change the fact that the President has done so in the past or that Congress rejected those cuts.

The point is the administration increase LIHEAP funding as part of the stimulus, and offered a justification for reducing it over the last couple of years: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2654044

How many people, if any, might actually lose the assistance is difficult to determine. Officials were quick to point out that LIHEAP spending has grown significantly over the past several years as the government tried to keep up with rising gas prices. In 2008, the government spent $2.8 billion on LIHEAP. In 2009, thanks to the Recovery Act, better known as the stimulus bill, the figure jumped to $8.1 billion. So the cut from that high level restores LIHEAP to something close to where it was before Obama took office. Other circumstances, such as the weather and fuel prices, could affect the distribution of benefits.

http://www.nationaljournal.com/whitehouse/exclusive-obama-to-cut-energy-assistance-for-the-poor-20110209

[Armstead]

80. Okay. So you agree that it is not a good thing to do, although you see the reasoning for it.

That's all I was curious about from your other responses.

[dsc]

72. the energy spike is over?

on what planet? Gasoline is still 3.50 or more a gallon, my electric bill is higher now than in 2009.

[cali]

49. oh, I think we all understand your lame point, hon.

you are being deliberately obtuse about what people are criticizing.

Carry on.

[ProSense]

64. You really shouldn't

"you are being deliberately obtuse about what people are criticizing. "

...attempt to call anyone "deliberately obtuse."

[truebrit71]

69. They didn't attempt to call you deliberately obtuse..they DID call you deliberately obtuse...

...because, you know, you are being deliberately obtu$e...

[ProSense]

81. This from someone who can't understand a simple fucking point. n/t

[randome]

55. Because energy prices have dropped since 2009.

The cut in funding probably -I would hope- will not change the number of people receiving assistance nor the percentage of dollars they receive.

Funding is based on energy prices, which have dropped.

[truebrit71]

58. Not according to this...

http://www.mass.gov/eea/energy-utilities-clean-tech/home-auto-fuel-price-info/heating-oil-price-surveys.html

[randome]

62. Yeah, well, that's Massachusetts. Not the entire country.

The only point I'm making is that since energy prices nationwide have dropped since the last funding increase, I don't see this as a 'cut', despite the willingness of so many on DU to jump to that conclusion.

[truebrit71]

67. The entire country doesn't use or need LIHEAP...the North-East does..

....are you using Reagan math? You know whereby if someone asks you for a $15 billion increase in their budget , but you only give them a $14 billion increase, you try and polish that turd as actually being a $1 billion budget CUT....

Last year he proposed 'x', this year he is proposing 'y' which is LESS than 'x', that is called a 'cut'...

[randome]

70. I don't see it that way.

If the same number of people nationwide get the same amount of assistance, but less money is needed because of declining energy prices, then, no, I do not consider that to be a 'cut'.

If the Northeast needed twice as much money but the rest of the country needed half as much as before, then the numbers may actually work out so that not as much money is needed but everyone still gets the same assistance as before.

[truebrit71]

73. But energy prices are NOT going down...

...especially heating oil...

[randome]

75. But LIHEAP pays for more than just heating oil.

I am not crunching heavy numbers here and I don't wish to. But if energy prices in general have declined, and probably fewer homes are still using heating oil, it's possible the budget proposal still reflects the same level of assistance but simply reflects less money to sustain that level.

[cali]

16. where's the ambiguity? This is the President's budget proposal.

[ProSense]

29. He proposes

"where's the ambiguity? This is the President's budget proposal."

...almost the equivalent amount every year, and Congress sends him a budget with additional funding.

Maine Congressional Delegation Decries Proposed LIHEAP Cuts
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x414930

EXCLUSIVE: White House to Cut Energy Assistance for the Poor
http://www.nationaljournal.com/whitehouse/exclusive-obama-to-cut-energy-assistance-for-the-poor-20110209

[randome]

39. Was there outrage on this in 2010? Not that I recall.

Maybe the amount of money reflects the actual need?

[cali]

44. yes. lots and lots.

[truebrit71]

48. I recall the last time this was brought up there was much outrage...and the u$ual defen$e...

...from the u$ual $ource...

[The Link]

51. At long last, have you left no sense of decency?

[ProSense]

53. Get over yourself.

It's hilarious the reaction to acknowledging that the President has proposed cuts before and Congress rejected them.

[Arcanetrance]

76. This is my objection to your entire argument

You say the president has proposed the cuts before and Congress rejected them. Does that change the fact they were proposed to begin with no it doesn't. It just means he got lucky while gambling with other people's lives. What happens if they don't reject it. To be honest if I was a Republican I would accept every damn cut he proposes. Because what Obama is proposing would kill our party now and for many years to come.

[randome]

77. LIHEAP is a states grant program.

Our representatives are nothing if not sponges for state assistance. And when virtually all of them vote to increase the funding so their own state gets more, they may be inclined to cut something else to make up for it.

Although Republicans, despite their whining about the deficit, have never had that kind of discipline before.

[Arcanetrance]

82. You know the one thing they like more than money is power

I have to believe they know the damage it would cause the party if these cuts were enacted. I mean hell they were trumpeting Obama wants to cut social security long before he ever proposed chained cpi imagine their ability to do so with that proposal in hand.

[randome]

84. You may be right. But all this 'hate Obama' stuff is premature until something like that happens.

Even if this is a mistake by Obama, he has shown he knows how to learn from his mistakes.

And the Democratically controlled Senate will NOT allow actual cuts to assistance to go forward.

And actually, I don't see that the Republicans will, either. It's the State reps who do all they can to shaft the needy. The federal reps, not so much since it's not their money they're screwing around with.

[Maven]

86. WTF are you blathering about? This is HIS PROPOSAL

At least if you're going to insult everyone's intelligence, get your talking points from Centrist Command straight first.

[ProSense]

88. May I ask WTF you're blathering about?

"At least if you're going to insult everyone's intelligence, get your talking points from Centrist Command straight first."

You make no fucking sense.

[Maven]

89. No, to the twisted spaghetti code that makes up your Centrist Processing Unit

I suppose a normal thinking person would not.

MALFUNCTION

MALFUNCTION

MALFUNCTION

[progressoid]

18. Woohoo!

Hey, we voted for change. And we got change!

[RKP5637]

28. Yep, change you can count on - suckers and marks!!!

As he ushers in R wins for 2014 and 2016.

[SammyWinstonJack]

47. pocket change. chump change. crumbs.

[magical thyme]

20. Liheap was already slashed to <9,900/year income I think 2 years ago

You will be homeless or, at best living in a rented room, before you qualify for fuel assistance if it is further cut. He may as well suggest dismantling it at that rate.

[magellan]

22. Don't give him any ideas. n/t

[n2doc]

25. I remember living very well on 9,900 a year

oh wait, this isn't 1970?

[n2doc]

24. Maybe one of the rah rah types can explain why this is a good thing

His budget is a very strange mix of good things and very bad things. But all over the map.

[RKP5637]

30. All over the map because he won't drive a stake in the ground and say this is

it ... he compromises all over the place which in negations is a sign of weakness to be exploited.

[truebrit71]

35. Oh, they're here already....

...per$onally I'd get dizzy $pouting that much $pin...

[Dragonfli]

94. The two main talking points from rah1 and rah2 are....

Heating is so much cheaper now and the changes reflect that,
a factor that should assure us it's likely that as much help will be given, but will cost quite a bit less.... to paraphrase

The other is more difficult to understand due to very confusing posts that bob and weave.
but I think it is

The President always offers cuts to LIHEAP but that's a good thing because congress will come up with more funding. (due to his proposed cuts or in spite of them isn't really clear to me from the posts)

[bullwinkle428]

32. Pfffft! Heat is so over-rated! Put on a sweater, Grandma.

Oh, and don't forget your peas.

[woo me with science]

36. Of course it does. nt

[SammyWinstonJack]

43. Well that's certainly progressive...Socialist? LMAO!

[Fearless]

45. Gee thanks. We elected a DINO. Great.

[cthulu2016]

46. Yeah, but LIHOP funding is doubled

<just a joke>

[L0oniX]

60. Caring about the poor is sooooo last century.

[randome]

65. Energy prices have dropped. Thus, the proposed reduction.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-17/electricity-declines-50-in-u-s-as-shale-brings-natural-gas-glut-energy.html

This is only a proposal so far. It's dismaying to see the eagerness of so many progressives to badmouth the President without looking for facts, such as the fact that energy prices have declined.

[truebrit71]

71. What does that link have to do with the price of heating oil...

....which is what we're primarily talking about here?

[randome]

74. So far as I know, LIHEAP pays for heating assistance, not just heating oil.

If I'm wrong about that, feel free to correct me.

[CountAllVotes]

78. your are right

They will also provide you with a cord of wood a year along with some financial help which appears on your power bill which bills for both natural gas and electricity where I live. You do not receive any checks from them, just some assistance. Note that word: SOME assistance.

This is a disgrace. It is NOT just senior citizens that rely upon LIHEAP, it is also the poor and the disabled.

[randome]

83. But if energy prices in general have declined, the same level of assistance...

...can be provided with fewer dollars. I really don't see this as an effort to cut anyone off.

After Obamacare, gay rights, gun control and consistent pushes for equitable taxation, I really don't think Obama is out to 'destroy us all' as some have painted this.

It's a budget proposal that reflects declining overall energy prices and will most likely be increased by Congress since LIHEAP is a state grant program.

[ohheckyeah]

95. I haven't seen my electric, propane or gas bill go down....

where is this mythical place where energy prices have dropped?

[CountAllVotes]

66. Now that is rough

It is not easy to qualify for LIHEAP.

What if you don't file a tax return? Many people that are of this status economically do not file a return due to a very low income and cannot provide a copy of their income tax return as they don't file one thus being quickly eliminated from the pool of customers that receive this benefit. Nice huh?

This is very bad news for people that rely on LIHEAP. You have to be really desperate to quality for this, I know that much!

SHAME ON YOU AGAIN BO!!! again ...

[JEB]

79. Come on Grandma

freeze your ass to keep Boehner happy.

[Maven]

85. Grover Norquist would be so proud.

[randome]

91. He's calling CCPI a tax increase.

[Maven]

92. Of course.

It's only the first step.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

90. Frozen cat food is crunchy.