Maine Congressional Delegation Decries Proposed LIHEAP Cuts

02/14/2011 11:36 AM ET

Members of the delegation say President Obama's proposal to slash heating assistance for the poor will be a devastating blow to Mainers already hard hit by the recession.

Members of Maine's congressional delegation are taking issue with the Obama administration's proposal to slash funding for the program that provides heating assistance for the poor. The proposal, contained in Obama's newly-released budget blueprint, would cut Maine's share of LIHEAP funding in half, according to Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both Republicans.

In a letter to Obama's budget director, the two urge the administration to reconsider the proposal. "The consequences of this proposal will disproportionately affect New Englanders, who are already facing a 25 percent increase in home heating oil this year," Snowe says in a joint statement. "The LIHEAP program is a necessity, not a luxury, and the President must fully account for the devastating social impact significant cuts would have on families in Maine and throughout the Northeast as they struggle to weather the current economic storm."

Last week, Maine 2nd District Rep. Mike Michaud urged the president not to support cuts to LIHEAP. "This program is a critical lifeline for many low-income families throughout our state," Michaud says in a statement. "Many Mainers, especially our seniors, rely on this important assistance to get through the winter and makes ends meet. I strongly support getting our fiscal house in order, but it should not be done on the backs of the most vulnerable Mainers.”

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http://www.mpbn.net/News/MaineHeadlineNews/tabid/968/ctl/ViewItem/mid/3479/ItemId/15168/Default.aspx

...how can you engage in such criticism of him? :sarcasm:

Prepare to get flamed...the defenders are out and about...

Well, why not? Is Rep. Michaud suggesting that the superfilthy rich "share the sacrifice" and forgo that really super addition to the spare mansion in the Hamptons that they promised Biffy and Buffy? Are FiFi and FooFoo (Biffy and Buffy's pet CockerPooHuahuas) supposed to survive on domestic caviar after being weaned on the finest Beluga?

After all, they've ALREADY lost $300 billion in tax breaks! (Yes, I know they got $700 billion, but they probably could have gotten a cool trillion to properly prime their trickle-down pumps!)

:sarcasm:, for those impaired. You know, I think I'm going to urp every time I hear the term "shared sacrifice" by the time all this is over...