Pollina Statement on Heating Fuel Assistance
June 12, 2008 Press Statement:
It is scary that when faced with a heating fuel crisis our governor can only come up with warmed over ideas that will do little, if anything, to help seniors and working families stay warm in winter.
Vermonters are worried about paying for heat. In fact, a number of folks have called my campaign office angry and worried about this winter. Unlike the current Governor, I cannot pretend it is not happening or pretend we do not have the resources to help. We do. We need to get real if we are going to help seniors and working families keep from going cold this winter. Reminding people about toll-free help lines that already exist and asking for volunteers and donations is not leadership.
As governor, I will be very aggressive and organize other governors to put pressure on Congress and stand up to the oil companies.If Congress does not stand up to the oil companies and does not come through with a major increase for LIHEAP, we should consider dipping into our rainy day funds. Help lines and charitable donations are stretched much too thin.
This is the same governor who vetoed energy efficiency legislation last year that would have helped us prepare for this crisis. The Governor wasted a year protecting the profits of Vermont Yankee instead of finding long-term solutions to increasing energy costs. Now he wants to train people to do energy audits and consider loans for energy efficiency improvements - ideas the legislature proposed in 2007.
Whether closing crumbling bridges or addressing higher energy costs, this governor constantly teaches us that ignoring a problem brings higher costs and very real suffering. Why are we always responding to a crisis? Why can’t we get it together to plan and solve problems before they turn into crisis?
We should design a reasonable level of assistance and make it available to qualified households either directly or through fuel dealers. Seniors, families, and fuel oil dealers are all being squeezed, while the oil companies are laughing all the way to the bank.
Vermont deserves better.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, June 12, 2008
CONTACT: Meg Brook - 802-343-2604
June 13th, 2008 at 11:05 am
THE GOP need to ” GET A GRIP” AND stop speding money on the IRAQ WAR and start spending it on energy effciency, home heating assistnce for the middle to lower class, weatherization, public transportation so that people in this state and nation will be able to stay warm this coming winter anc be able to pay for food and not have to make the tough choices of ” do i pay for food or oil”? That is not a choice that no Vermonter or American should have to make! Its time that we start investing in energy alternatives, and pulbic tranportation so that we can get out of thsi crisis.
NICOLE LEBLANC