The American Public Gas Association (APGA) on Tuesday urged a House appropriations subcommittee to raise funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to $3.4 billion when it marks up the spending bill for fiscal 2006 this week.

With natural gas prices at historically high levels, “LIHEAP, now more than ever, plays a critical role in helping low-income families meet their energy needs. Unfortunately, LIHEAP funding levels have not kept pace with rising energy prices and [the] increased need for the program,” wrote APGA President Bert Kalisch to Rep. Ralph Regula (R-OH), chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Rep. David Obey of Wisconsin, the ranking Democrat on the panel.

LIHEAP currently reaches only about 15% of the 30 million households that are eligible for the federal assistance, according to the group of municipal gas distributors. Since 1981, the number of households eligible for LIHEAP assistance has grown, while the number of households served has declined, it said.

“A $3.4 billion appropriation for the program would spread much-needed LIHEAP assistance to an additional three million homes,” Kalisch told the House lawmakers. The House appropriations panel is scheduled to mark up the fiscal 2006 spending bill on Thursday.

©Copyright 2005Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news reportmay not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in anyform, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.