Press Release

With Dropping Temperatures And Rising Energy Costs, Gillibrand Helps Secure $5.1 Billion For Home Heating Assistance

Dec 15, 2009

Washington,
DC –
With dropping temperatures and rising energy costs, U.S. Senator Kirsten
Gillibrand helped secure $5.1 billion for the Home Energy Assistance Program
(HEAP).  This matches last year’s investment – the largest amount of
funding Congress has ever allocated to help seniors and low-income families
heat their homes during the winter months. Senator Gillibrand is also
introducing new legislation to provide low interest loans and tax credits to
help cover the costs of energy, as well as providing a guidebook for families and businesses to help navigate federal grant programs and take
advantage of funding available to heat and weatherize homes, schools and
businesses.

“No New York family should ever be left in the cold,”
Senator Gillibrand said. “But with the bad economy, job losses and rising
energy costs, too many New York families struggle to heat their homes and stay
warm. My legislation will help more families afford heating with new tax
credits and affordable loans. And my guidebook will help every eligible family
and business take advantage of the resources that are available to them to heat
and weatherize homes and businesses – making them more energy efficient and
saving millions.”

“Older New
Yorkers on fixed incomes tend to be hit especially hard by home heating costs
as they use about the same amount of energy as younger people, yet they devote
nearly twice of their total spending to heating their homes.  These
cost-saving resources outlined by Senator Gillibrand can be critical to helping
older citizens stay healthy and safe this winter,” said Lois Aronstein,
AARP New York State Director.  “We also encourage New Yorkers to take
advantage of energy-saving tips and checklists that are available
to help them save money on their energy bills such as our toolkit on www.createthegood.org.”

The cost of heating oil in New York is the second highest in the nation at
$2.46 per gallon. Approximately 3 million New Yorkers rely on heating oil to
heat their homes in the winter – making New York particularly vulnerable to
shortages and price hikes as a result of extremely high demand.

Nearly $320 million was provided in nearly 1.3 million direct checks to New
Yorkers to heat their homes last year – an increase of nearly 415,000 from two
years prior.

  • In New York City, over $40 million was
    provided in over 740,000 direct checks to New Yorkers to heat their homes last
    year — an increase of over 280,000 from two years prior.
  • In Western New York, nearly $65 million was
    provided in nearly 130,000 direct checks to New Yorkers to heat their homes
    last year – an increase of nearly 25,000 from two years prior.
  • In the Rochester/Finger Lakes Region, over
    $30 million was provided in over 70,000 direct checks to New Yorkers last year
    – an increase of over 13,000 from two years prior.
  • In Central New York, over $45 million was
    provided in over 85,000 direct checks to New Yorkers to heat their homes last
    year — an increase of nearly 19,000 from two years prior.
  • In the Southern Tier, over $25 million was
    provided in nearly 44,000 direct checks to New Yorkers to heat their homes last
    year – an increase of nearly 10,000 from two years prior.
  • Inthe Capital Region, over $35 million
    was provided in over 66,000 direct checks to New Yorkers to heat their homes
    last year – an increase of over 16,000 from two years prior.
  • In the North Country, over $25 million was provided
    in nearly 40,000 direct checks to New Yorkers to heat their homes last year –
    an increase of nearly 9,000 from two years prior.
  • Inthe Hudson Valley, nearly $25 million
    was provided in nearly 65,000 direct checks to New Yorkers to heat their homes
    last year – an increase of over 27,000 from two years prior.
  • On Long Island, over $17 million was provided
    in over 40,000 direct checks to New Yorkers to heat their homes last year – an
    increase of over 15,000 from two years prior.

1. $5.1 Billion for the Home Energy Assistance ProgramOver the weekend, Senator Gillibrand helped pass the Omnibus
Appropriations bill for next year, including $5.1 billion in HEAP funding – the
largest amount Congress has ever allocated for the program that helps seniors
and low-income families heat their homes for the winter.

New York State is expected to receive more than $475 million in HEAP grants and
more than $60 million for disaster relief and other emergencies.

2. Tax Credits and Low Interest Loans to Make Home Heating Affordable
Senator Gillibrand is introducing the Home Heating Cost Relief Act to
provide tax credits worth $1,000 for individuals and $2,000 for families to
help cover the costs of home heating oil, gas and propane. The legislation,
which was authored and introduced in the House by Congresswoman Carolyn
McCarthy of Long Island, would also create a low-interest loan program to
provide up to $5,000 in loans at 1 percent interest to help families weatherize
their homes by upgrading caulking, weather stripping doors and windows, making
furnaces more energy efficient, installing new insulation and other energy
efficiency measures. Any individual whose income is under $100,000 or $200,000
for joint filers is eligible.

“I was pleased to reintroduce this legislation at the
beginning of the Congress and am happy that Senator Gillibrand saw the
importance of the issue and will introduce similar legislation in the Senate,”
said Congresswoman McCarthy.  “The average family will pay thousands of
dollars this year to heat their home.  Many homes, particularly older
homes, need new windows, new burners, and better insulation in order to be more
energy efficient.  The loan program will offer many homeowners the
opportunity to make necessary home improvements to drive down their energy
costs.”

3. The Gillibrand Guidebook to Help New Yorkers Heat and Weatherize Homes
To help every eligible New Yorker take advantage of resources that are
available to them, Senator Gillibrand is providing a guidebook to navigate grants and loans that can help heat and weatherize more homes,
schools and businesses.

Last year, approximately 2.6 million New York households qualified for HEAP.
And while nearly 1.3 million seniors and low-income families depended on HEAP
funds to heat their homes last year, over a million eligible households were
left in the cold.

Additionally, the Economic Recovery Act that Senator Gillibrand helped pass
earlier this year delivered $500
million
for New York to weatherize homes, schools and businesses and make
them more energy efficient. Weatherizing homes can help families cut nearly
one-third of their energy costs on average, according to the U.S. Department of
Energy.

Senator Gillibrand’s guidebook can help every eligible New Yorkers take
advantage of HEAP benefits, as well as help local governments, families and
businesses navigate federal grant applications to take advantage of
weatherization grants to make homes, schools and businesses more energy
efficient and save on energy costs.

Senator Gillibrand’s Guide to Home Heating and Weatherization Resources is
available here.