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92_HR0668
LRB9215980RHrh
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, During the past year, many states exhausted
3 their Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
4 allocations as the energy assistance program served one
5 million more households than it had in the previous year; and
6 WHEREAS, According to the National Energy Assistance
7 Directors' Association, a combination of circumstances has
8 left many low-income households with utility debts at levels
9 considerably higher than in previous years and applications
10 for the current heating season coming in at rates higher than
11 last year; and
12 WHEREAS, On January 30, 2002, intake site directors in
13 Illinois were informed that the State of Illinois was already
14 running out of LIHEAP funds for this program year; therefore,
15 be it
16 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
17 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
18 we call on the Bush Administration to immediately release the
19 $600,000,000 in emergency LIHEAP funds that have been
20 appropriated to reduce the energy burden on low-income
21 households ($300,000,000 from the Supplemental Appropriations
22 Act of 2001 and $300,000,000 from the FY 2002
23 Labor/HHS/Education spending bill); and be it further
24 RESOLVED, That these contingency LIHEAP funds were
25 authorized to meet the additional home energy assistance
26 needs of one or more states arising from, among other things,
27 increases in the cost of home energy, increases in home
28 energy disconnections, and increases in layoffs and
29 unemployment; and be it further
30 RESOLVED, That the members of the House of
31 Representatives recognize that the latest U.S. Department of
-2- LRB9215980RHrh
1 Labor employment data indicate the unemployment rate has
2 risen almost one full percentage point in the last two
3 months, while payroll employment across the nation has fallen
4 by nearly 800,000; and be it further
5 RESOLVED, Under these conditions, the members of the
6 House of Representatives believe it is imperative that the
7 Bush Administration release to state LIHEAP programs the
8 $600,000,000 currently available in emergency LIHEAP funds;
9 and be it further
10 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
11 presented to President George W. Bush and to each member of
12 the Illinois congressional delegation.