No aid planned to help low-income families, seniors with energy costs

Conservation will be U.S. focus

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

By Ann McFeatters, Post-Gazette National Bureau

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration yesterday said it has no plans to
ask Congress for additional funds to help low-income families and
financially stretched seniors deal with rapidly escalating home heating
bills.

The Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration is projecting
that this winter’s natural gas prices will run as much as 77 percent
more than last winter in parts of the Midwest . . .  That could mean that thousands of households won’t be
able to afford enough heat or electricity.

But he said asking Congress to increase money for the Low Income Home
Energy Assistance Program "is not on the agenda" for the administration
"at this point."

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Congress Seeks to Slash Food Aid for Poor

By LIBBY QUAID, Associated Press Writer

Wednesday, October 5, 2005

(10-05) 08:09 PDT    WASHINGTON,  (AP) —

Under orders to whittle agriculture
spending by $3 billion, Republicans in Congress propose to slash food
programs for the poor by $574 million and subsidies and conservation
programs by $1 billion each, The Associated Press has learned.

. . .

The $574 million cut in food stamps would come
from restricting access to this benefit for certain families that
receive other government assistance. The restriction would shut an
estimated 300,000 people out of the program.

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