BOSTON (AP) — An additional $18 million in federal heating assistance funds have been released for lower income Massachusetts residents this winter.
The Massachusetts money was included in the nearly $454 million in additional assistance released to all states Thursday under the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
U.S. Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren hailed the move. The Massachusetts Democrats had pressed Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to make the money available.
The decision follows recent passage of a spending bill that included more funding for the program.
Residential heating oil prices in Massachusetts have increased nearly 25 cents a gallon, or roughly six percent, since the end of October while residential propane prices in the state have risen 45 cents a gallon, or 15 percent, during the same period.
“It’s a big deal,” said Congressman Richard E. Neal. “This winter has been brutal for a lot of people and families. I spoke to a landlord in Holyoke Friday. He said oil is at $3.89 a gallon… he can’t do it. I think that is the role we’re trying to play.”
Neal, a former City Councilor and Mayor of Springfield who served as the Representative for the state’s Second Congressional District from 1989 to 2013 prior to redistricting, also cited Silvio Conte, a former U.S. Representative for Massachusetts’ First Congressional District, as an original sponsor of the bill.
State Senator Don Humason, Jr. (R-Westfield) supports the LIHEAP initiative as well, and believes it to be a true bi-partisan effort.
“We’re at the mercy in the northeast of harsh, brutal winters, and we have residents for whom the winters are particularly tough” he said this morning. “This funding is our version of the relief the southern states get for hurricanes, but we get it every year.”
Humason also cited the work of Conte, also a Republican, on his work.
“It enjoys bipartisan support,” he added. “I think there are some people who question the level of the federal government’s involvement, but for the time being, this is how we deal with these winters here.”
