WHEREAS, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program IHEAP)is the primary federal program available to help low-income households, including families with children, the elderly and disabled individuals, pay their home energy bills; and

WHEREAS, LIHEAP provides financial assistance for home heating and cooling, energy crisis intervention and low-cost home weatherization to low-income households, including working poor households, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities; and

WHEREAS, LIHEAP prevents low-income families from having to choose between paying to heat or cool their homes or purchasing necessary medication and food; and

WHEREAS, unaffordable home energy can lead to homelessness and housing abandonment, health and safety problems, and a lack of educational opportunities for children; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Energy has predicated that natural gas prices in 2006 will be 44 percent higher than during the winter of 2001-2002, and that fuel oil prices will be 69 percent higher; and

WHEREAS, higher energy prices are increasing the need for assistance while reducing the purchasing power of LIHEAP; and

WHEREAS, low-income households are harder hit by increases in energy prices and less able to absorb fluctuations in fuel cost than medium to higher income households; and

WHEREAS, the Congress authorized $3.4 billion for the LIHEAP program but only appropriated $1.88 billion in regular funds and $300 million in emergency funds,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The U. S. Conference of Mayors supports an increase in LIHEAP authorization and urges Congress to increase the appropriations of the LIHEAP program to at least $3.4 billion in the FY 2006 budget to accommodate the increase in eligible low-income households.