Realty Times February 15, 2000

Rising Oil Prices Put Low Income Families in the Cold
by Lew Sichelman

The Clinton Administration is taking steps to ease the heating oil crisis that has effected not only hundreds of thousands of home owners, particularly in the Northeast, but also many heating oil distributors.

In the last year, heating oil prices have tripled in some markets.

Under the President's direction, the Department of Health and Human Services is releasing $130 million in emergency funds to help low-income families pay their energy bills. In addition, the Small Business Administration is ready to make loans to help distributors who are short on cash meet their own obligations and continue banking deliveries.

"We can't control Mother Nature," said Energy Sec. Bill Richardson. "But we can help ease the burden on many Americans."

The $130 million in energy assistance is in addition to the $45 million in emergency funds already released by HHS. Of the new funds, $40 million is being targeted to New York and the New England States, with the remainder being distributed to the rest of the country.

In other steps to help relieve the problem, the White House is:

  • Working with states on a case-by-case basis on possible waivers to the Clean Air Act. Short-term waivers could add to the quantity of available fuel so supplies will be adequate for the remainder of the winter.

  • Obtaining "hours of service" waivers so deliveries can be made in the early mornings and late evenings.

  • Urging refineries to delay routine maintenance so production can run full throttle until the crisis has passed.

  • Creating a joint Transportation Department-Coast Guard task force to prioritize heating oil shipments at docks and terminals, clear rivers, and deploy Coast Guard vessels and other resources to be certain there are no shipping or loading delays.

    The Administration is hosting a home heating oil summit in Boston tomorrow to bring industry leaders, federal lawmakers and state officials together to address additional methods to solve the crisis.

    Also See:

  • Clinton's Budget Proposal Is Extremely Homebuyer-friendly
  • Freddie Mac's New Programs Benefit Low And Moderate Income Housing

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