Okay, so there really is a first for everything. Consider this our first and maybe not the last critique of this Administration.
What is going on with President Obama? The National Journal is reporting massive cuts to LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program), a federally funded program geared towards helping the poorer among us to heat their homes during the cold winter months. The report states that this will be “the biggest domestic spending cut disclosed so far, and one that will likely generate the most heat from the president’s traditional political allies.”
This is obviously an effort by the administration to appease the Republican party, who have promised the Teaparty that they will impose massive cuts to domestic spending programs.
The decision has left some in the President’s own party scratching their heads. The report continues;
One White House friend, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said earlier today that a Republican proposal to cut home heating oil counted as an “extreme idea” that would “set the country backwards.” Schumer has not yet reacted to Obama’s proposed cut. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., declared: “The President’s reported proposal to drastically slash LIHEAP funds by more than half would have a severe impact on many of New Hampshire’s most vulnerable citizens and I strongly oppose it.” A spokesman for Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., declared similarly: “If these cuts are real, it would be a very disappointing development for millions of families still struggling through a harsh winter.”
In a letter to Obama, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., wrote, “We simply cannot afford to cut LIHEAP funding during one of the most brutal winters in history. Families across Massachusetts, and the country, depend on these monies to heat their homes and survive the season.”
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, would see funding drop by about $2.5 billion from an authorized 2009 total of $5.1 billion. The proposed cut will not touch the program’s emergency reserve fund, about $590 million, which can be used during particularly harsh cold snaps or extended heat spells, three officials told National Journal
Read the rest of the report here.
