On June 27, Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Susan Collins (R-ME), along with forty-three Senate colleagues, sent a letter to the White House requesting the immediate release of $120 million in emergency contingency funds for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) Program. The letter asks that the funds be released no less than two weeks from the date the letter was sent. The bi-partisan group said many families are suffering from high-energy prices and some parts of the country are experiencing hotter than normal temperatures. The group urged President Bush to consider several factors in determining whether to release such funds: "the threat of utility shutoffs for millions of households, families trying to pre-buy energy for the coming winter, continued high energy costs and the lack of leveraging money this year that states were counting on."
The Reed/Collins letter states that "record high energy costs have resulted in record numbers of households facing utility disconnection. The National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA) estimates that more than 15.6 million households face utility shutoffs because they cannot pay their energy bills. Shutoff moratoria have run out in the states that have them. Many families are already experiencing this difficult situation and many more will face this prospect without additional LIHEAP funding."
Sen. Reed's office asked NEPPA for its assistance in garnering support for the letter. Morgan Meguire contacted all New England Senate offices, requesting that they sign onto the Reed-Collins effort. The final letter included all twelve New England senators.