Fargo Forum - A state Democratic House leader argues that poor North Dakotans could be “left out in the cold” if the state fails to bolster federal energy assistance payments.
Rep. Merle Boucher, D-Rolette, the House minority leader, on Wednesday accused Gov. John Hoeven of not taking the initiative to have a state plan in place if federal funding isn’t increased to meet rising fuel costs.
“I think it’s incumbent on us here in the state of North Dakota to fill in the gap,” Boucher said. “If we need to have a special session to accomplish it, then we need to consider it.”
The state should tap its $100 million budget surplus to augment payments under the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program if Washington fails to boost funding, he said.
But a spokesman for Hoeven bristled at Boucher’s allegations, saying the governor was in Washington Wednesday, where he was given renewed assurances from the administration and in Congress that $1 billion in energy assistance funding for the poor is coming.
“We’re addressing the home heating assistance funding issue at both the state and federal levels,” Hoeven said in a statement. “In addition, we are working through the Department of Commerce’s Division of Community Services and private sector utilities to help bring conservation and fuel assistance to needy citizens.”
This is ridiculous.
As I've pointed out before, North Dakota received, last year, $14,000,000 in federal funding for heating aid for low income families. That $14,000,000 was distributed to 15,000 families. Doing quick bit of math, you see that each family received an average of $933.
Looking at my heating bill, that's paying for it, not assistance.
I suspect that, for people like Boucher, heating assistance is an "issue of opportunity" more than a real concern. It's easy to generate sympathy when you throw around imagery of "freezing poor people" in North Dakota, especially when the state has a huge budget surplus sitting around. I think that Boucher and other state Democrats would rather see that budget surplus stay in the government than see the Republicans do something crazy with it. Like, I don't know, give it back to the people in the form of a tax cut.
Heating aid is just a means to an end.
(via The North Dakota Democrats Blog)