Northeastern governors are asking President Bush to release $120 million in contingency funds for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
And the Coalition of Northeastern Governors – chaired by Governor Jim Douglas – has come out in support of a proposal by Senator Bernie Sanders to provide an additional $2.7 billion in LIHEAP funding nationwide.
Douglas says Vermont has taken other steps to help people heat their homes. There is a new program allowing people to cut wood from state lands for heating fuel and stepped up home weatherization services. But he says additional federal heating aid is needed as well.