GOP Blocks Heating Aid Increase For Poor

(CBS/ AP)  Republicans on Saturday blocked the Senate from considering a bill next week that would nearly double federal aid to help the poor pay heating and air-conditioning bills.

Although a dozen Senate Republicans support the measure, most voted with GOP leaders who would rather spend the time trumpeting their call to expand offshore oil drilling before Congress takes six weeks off for vacation and the presidential nominating conventions.

"The American resources on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts contain 14 billion barrels at a minimum ... more than we have imported from the Persian Gulf in the last 15 years," said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M.

Democrats needed 60 votes to substitute the measure on heating and air-conditioning aid in place of the debate on an expansion of offshore drilling championed by President Bush and GOP presidential candidate John McCain. They got 50 votes Saturday, with 35 Republicans voting against changing the topic.

"Do we vote to keep the old, the sick and kids alive when the weather gets cold or very, very hot, or do we spend money on people who make huge campaign contributions? That is part of what this debate is about," said Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont.

Analysts say the 8 million households that use home heating oil, mostly in the northeast, will see prices around $4.68 a gallon this winter - up $2 from last year, reports CBS News correspondent Thalia Assuras. For the winter, that would mean an average cost of almost $2,600, a jump of almost 40 percent from last year.

The government is devoting $2.6 billion in subsidies for helping people with low incomes pay heating and air-conditioning bills this year. Sanders' bill would nearly double that to $5.1 billion.

While Senate Democrats said they hoped to pass it next week, Democrats in the House were looking at the popular subsidies for anchoring a second economic aid bill they want to push in September, closer to the November election.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is vehemently against letting the House vote on offshore drilling. She and Democratic leaders in the Senate also have shut down normal summer work on spending bills to prevent offshore drilling from getting a legislative footing in the appropriations committees.

[steeepe]

Hey, survival of the fittest, I mean, the richest. Too bad we don''t have a Charles Dickens to write this up for posterity. I think that the GOP would like to see the poor die off and are helping to accomplish that with their refusal to act civilly. Oh well, I guess we don''t have a commonwealth anyway. Maybe the U.S. should be divided into Red and Blue countries. Then the red GOP country will resemble Orwell''s Animal Farm.

[anvilofsteel]

"Do we vote to keep the old, the sick and kids alive when the weather gets cold or very, very hot, or do we spend money on people who make huge campaign contributions? That is part of what this debate is about," said Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont.


Republicans need to give OIl companies another freebie, and without that Corporate Welfare, they refuse to allow poor people to survive.... Yup. More republican Zero integrity, 100% evil.

If they somehow know how much oil is offshore, why dont they just drill in the 33 million offshore Square Acres of territory already permitted to them by the Federal government?
??? why not??? Why refuse to drill in oil rich areas already allowed, and Cry Foul for not getting protected areas first? WHy?

[grammawhamma]

Assistance for air conditioning? I never knew such a thing existed! I always thought air conditioning was a luxery...not a necessity.

Heating assistance I can understand.

[caldwellptr]

What a Nation of Whiners!
Heat and Air Conditioning for the elderly indeed!

[dan3232321]

I would like to know what else there was in this bill? I doubt seriously that the only thing in it was money for aid for heating this winter. There was clearly something in it that the Republican''s found unacceptible. As usual, the CBS article was one sided and didn''t even have a comment from a Republican included that had anything to do with this bill. This was just another free advertisement for the Democrats, courtesy of CBS.

[tryhonesty]

The real issue that RepubliCONs continue to "stuff under the rug" is to FIRST build the oil refineries that America needs, talk about getting the cart before the horse...but that is typical of the Greedy OLD Party (GOP) RepubliCONs and McSAME who continues to "sell out" to the billions of dollar profit Big Oil Companies who contribute millions to get McSAME in power...same OLD game plan.

[tryhonesty]

RepubliCONs really do hate Americans, they prove it every day they are in power...

[dougmsbbs]

"david1737
You win the stupid post of the year award. "

Oh, come on now. There are a LOT of stupid posts still in the running. Of course, the fact that he had a point changes the voting a bit.
The stragegy of the Dems seems to be to hold prices high enough to make switching over to other forms of energy profitable. It may even work. Long term gain we really need to do, but a short term pain thats really going to hurt this winter. Drilling for more of our oil WILL bring prices down, and quickly. It won''t take years, I would estimate months at the most. As soon as the word was announced that we would drill off our coasts, gas will drop 50 cents in a week or so, a dollar in a few months. The mere threat of a large increase in supply will unwind a lot of trades. Look what happened to the price of a barrel of oil when Bush removed the presidential moratorium on off shore drilling. Think what will happen if we actually did it.
The Republicans seem to stand for short term gain only. They have no long term plan. Steady, hold your course. Full speed into the rocks!
The ones making this decision are NOT going to be cold this winter. For them, this increase in energy cost is a drop in the bucket. I bet they never even ask thier limo driver what he paid to fill the thing up, or how much it costs to run the private jet for a month...
Middle of the road anyone?

[david1737]

Since you highly intelligent dems on capitol hill know whats best for everybody, and you believe we just need to stop using oil and start using clean forms of energy, why not do it right now?

Instead of subsidizing BAD old heating OIL for the northeast homes, why not LIMIT the availability of it so that the prices go up? That way the bad old OIL users will want to change out their OIL furnaces and put in "environmentally friendly" heaters such as pollution free electric ones?

GO AHEAD you northeasterners and be a shining example for the rest of the country!!!

Posted by edintex at 12:27 PM


You win the stupid post of the year award.

[dougmsbbs]

"Instead of waiting WE ALL NEED TO LEARN to act for ourselves and start telling congress what to do rather than wait for them to do something for us."

How true! How many on here crying have called thier congressman, written to their senator? I would bet it''s a pretty low number. While cash under the table will certainly help get their attention (BOTH parties by the way)if a lot of you would tell them what you think they WILL pay attention.
It''s an election year folks. This is your chance. Flood them out with mail! As soon as the election is over, your voice has no say again for a few more years.
The folks in D.C. are directionless right now, waiting to see which way the wind will blow. Fill the sails with what the taxpayers are thinking, and push them in the direction you want. All sides, all issues, all parties. TELL THEM BEFORE THE ELECTION OR YOU LOSE THE CHANCE FOR A FEW MORE YEARS!
So get out of here, click your mouse and head for YOUR elected officals web site. It only takes a few minutes, and you can always come back here afterwards and scream at each other again...