Say Anything Blog

BISMARCK - North Dakota's treasury will make up the difference if federal heating assistance to low-income households falls short, Gov. John Hoeven said today. The expense could reach $5 million, which will come from savings in the state's welfare program.

About 15,000 North Dakota households benefit from the heating-aid program, said Carol Olson, director of the state Department of Human Services. It is normally financed by the federal government. North Dakota accounted for about $14 million in heating aid spending last winter, Olson said.

Congress has been debating whether to increase outlays for heating aid, because of sharply higher prices for natural gas and fuel oil, which are used to heat homes.

At a news conference at the state Capitol today, Hoeven said the state would provide the funds necessary to maintain the heating assistance program's present eligibility requirements.

There is absolutely no indication that federal heating aid is going to fall short of what is needed. The 15,000 North Dakotans who receive heating aid got over $900 each last year. That would cover most of my heating bill even at the high prices we're paying now, and I'm using natural gas to heat an older home that is something less than energy efficient. I don't foresee the state having to make up any difference at all.

That aside, though, Hoeven's statement is just plain common sense. After all, we're not going to let anybody freeze to death in their own home. State Democrats have been making a big deal about Hoeven "not having a plan in place," but that was all just empty rhetoric. North Dakota has always been in a position to help out on heating aid should federal dollars fall short.

That state Democrats had to resort using this rather silly non-issue shows just how slim the pickins are for partisans looking to score political points in a state with a Governor as popular as Hoeven is.