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NEFI Work Group Addresses
LIHEAP Administrative Burdens
NEFI’s newly formed LIHEAP Work Group is working to advocate for the
industry’s interests in the realm of fuel assistance and the federal Low
Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Made up of heating oil dealers
and association executives throughout the New England region, the
group is identifying problems with LIHEAP on both the state and federal
level and seeking solutions that benefit participating NEFI members.
The need for a collective effort to address LIHEAP issues arose from a
number of recent developments that may lead to increased administrative
burdens on NEFI members. Reduction in LIHEAP funding due to the recent
across the board sequester cuts in the federal budget together with lower
annual appropriations from lawmakers in a cost cutting mood is expected
to reduce LIHEAP program administration efficiency on the state level.
A reduction in overall federal funding for local program administration
will likely result in longer reimbursement waiting periods for heating oil
dealers participating in the LIHEAP program.
Moreover, a recent LIHEAP study by the U.S. General Accountability
Office (GAO), the investigate arm of Congress, may lead to new paperwork
burdens for heating oil dealers. The GAO report found that 9 percent of
household accounts receiving LIHEAP benefits contained invalid identity
information, such as Social Security numbers, names, or dates of birth.
The GAO said that while some of these cases are likely due to simple errors
such as typos or incomplete data, thousands of other cases show strong
indications of fraud and improper benefits. For example, the identities of
over 11,000 deceased individuals were used as applicants or household
members for LIHEAP benefits.
The GAO recommended that more information be collected on LIHEAP
recipients to prevent fraud. The Department of Health and Human
Services has agreed to implement the GAO’s fraud prevention
recommendations by drafting new data collection guidelines for states
that receive federal LIHEAP funding. The concern for NEFI members is that
cash-strapped state and local providers of LIHEAP funds will push the
burden of information collection on heating oil dealers themselves.
The NEFI LIHEAP Work Group will address these and other problems
including reimbursement formulas in the months ahead. Any heating
oil dealer interested in joining the LIHEAP Work Group should contact
Mark S. Morgan, NEFI regulatory counsel at
New Survey Finds Federal Sequester
Cut 300,000 Families From LIHEAP in 2013
The National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association (NEADA)
representing the state directors of the Low Income Home Energy
Assistance Program (LIHEAP) reported that the FY 2013 federal sequester
($1.2 trillion in automatic across the board spending cuts) prevented
about 300,000 families from receiving heating or cooling assistance,
according to a recent survey. The sequester reduced total FY 2013 funding
by about $155 million from $3.47 billion to $3.32 billion. The sequester cuts
are in addition to a $1.8 billion Congressional reduction in LIHEAP funding
since FY 2010, reducing total funding from $5.1 billion to $3.32 billion
between 2010 and 2013.
The survey found:
r "T B EJSFDU SFTVMU PG UIF TFRVFTUFS UIF UPUBM OVNCFS PG IPVTFIPMET
receiving home heating assistance declined by 194,000 from 6.9 million
in FY 2012 to about 6.7 million in FY 2013, and those receiving cooling
assistance declined by about 104,000 from 1.1 million to about 996,000.
The impact has been significant. Total number of households receiving
assistance has declined by 17 percent, from about 8.1 million in FY 2010
to 6.7 million in FY 2013.
r $VUT FOBDUFE TJODF ': IBWF SFEVDFE UIF QSPHSBN T QVSDIBTJOH
power from 52.5 percent of the cost of home heating for the average
household to 44 percent during last year’s winter heating season.
LIHEAP DISTRIBUTION
Estimated Average % of Home Heating Purchased with LIHEAP (FY10-FY14)
Fiscal Year
Heating Oil
Natural Gas Electricity All Fuels
2010
22.6% 71.8% 54.9% 52.5%
2011
20.9% 66.4% 50.8% 48.6%
2012
19.8% 67.9% 45.7% 46.9%
2013
16.6% 61.7% 43.2% 44.0%
2014
16.9% 54.6% 42.3% 41.5%
Estimated Home Heating Costs (2010-11 to 2013-14)
Winter Heating Season Heating Oil
Natural Gas Electricity All Fuels
2010-11
$2,298
$724
$946
$990
2011-12
$2,087
$608
$902
$880
2012-13
$2,442
$657
$939
$922
2013-14
$2,393
$742
$958
$977
% Change:
2012/13-2013/14
-2.0% 13.0% 2.0% 6.0%
Estimated Households Served & Average Grant (FY10-FY14)
Appropriation
Households
Average
Fiscal Year
(in 1,000’s)
(in 1000’s)
Grant
2010
$5,100,000
8,047
$520
2011
$4,700,000
8,013
$481
2012
$3,471,672
6,900
$413
2013
$3,317,000
6,706
$406
FY 14 (Adm. Budget)
$2,919,000
5,901
$406
FY 14 Straight CR
$3,317,000
6,706
$406
FY 14 Sequester
$3,184,320
6,438
$406
List of NORA Supporters Continues To Grow
Legislation to renew or “reauthorize” the National Oilheat Research
Alliance (NORA) continues to gain momentum with the addition of two
more influential cosponsors in the House of Representatives.
Congressman Joe Courtney (D-CT2) is already well known as a crusader
against excessive speculation in the energy markets. Courtney has a seat in
the House Committee on Agriculture, which oversees the commodity
futures markets and has jurisdiction over biofuels-related legislation.
Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA6) also serves in the Committee on
Agriculture as one of its most senior Republican members. He was
Chairman of the committee from 2003-2007 and currently serves as its
Vice Chairman.
As NEFI members are well aware, the federal law authorizing NORA
expired on February 6, 2010. Since then the home heating oil industry and
its allies in the biofuel and energy efficiency sectors have been pushing
hard for its renewal. The bill enjoys broad bipartisan support in Congress.
The Senate bill (S.913) has a total of nine Democrats, two Republicans and
one Independent as cosponsors. The House bill (H.R.1985) now enjoys a
total of 28 Republicans and seven Democrats. Reauthorization of the
NORA program remains a top priority for NEFI and we will continue to
keep members up-to-date on the latest developments.
