Saturday, December 30, 2000
President Clinton?s Radio Address to the Nation: Keeping the Heat and
Lights On During Unusually Cold Weather
December 30, 2000
Today, President Clinton, in his radio address to the nation, will announce
a series of steps to reduce the likelihood and severity of energy shortages
to help Americans in what will likely be the coldest winter in several
years. Unparalleled economic growth and cold weather have led to
significant increases in the demand for energy. For instance, demand for
electricity in California is up 13 percent from last year, largely in
response to a growing economy. Yet power generation capacity has not kept
up to that pace, and electricity supplies have tightened while prices have
risen in the western United States. When combined with cold weather
following three warmer than average winters in a row, the increased demand
for energy to heat and power our homes and businesses has led to energy
bills significantly larger than in recent winters. The Clinton
Administration has been taking steps since last winter to meet this
challenge, and is taking further steps reduce the risk of supply shortages
and to ease the burden of energy prices on families and small businesses.
PRESIDENT CLINTON WILL RELEASE $300 MILLION IN LIHEAP EMERGENCY FUNDS IN
RESPONSE TO HIGH HEATING FUEL PRICES: President Clinton will direct the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to release $300 million in
Low-income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) emergency funds to all
States to assist low-income households facing substantial increases in home
heating fuel prices. With this release of $300 million in LIHEAP emergency
funds, the President will have directed HHS to release a total of $856
million in LIHEAP emergency funds since September to help States assist
low-income households in coping with high fuel prices during this winter.
In addition to this release, HHS released $156 million on December 18
(superscript: th) and $400 million on September 23(superscript: rd). The
Department of Energy projects that heating oil prices this winter will be
29 percent higher than last winter, and natural gas prices will be 40
percent higher than last winter.
PRESIDENT CLINTON WILL ALSO ANNOUNCE 4 STEPS TO HELP AMERICANS DURING THE
WINTER: The measures that President Clinton has already taken were critical
steps towards preparing for cold weather and energy shortages with their
accompanying high prices this winter. Following on their success, and in
order to stay ahead of potential challenges, President Clinton is taking
four additional steps to prepare for possible energy shortages during the
cold months ahead.
? Keeping the Heating Fuels Distribution Systems Open: President
Clinton will direct the Departments of Energy and Transportation to work
together to ensure that the heating oil distribution system is not
disrupted by inclement weather. For instance, the Coast Guard will keep
open shipping channels that may freeze so that heating oil barges can make
critical deliveries of heating oil to Northern ports. The Department of
Energy Office of Energy Emergencies will coordinate closely with the
Department of Transportation Emergency Transportation Representative to
address any transportation problems as they arise in order to keep heating
fuel moving through the distribution system to the consumer.
? Conserving Electricity at Federal Facilities: President Clinton will
direct managers of all Federal buildings in the Pacific Northwest to join
those in California to take steps to reduce consumption of power to the
maximum extent practicable consistent with the health and welfare of
employees. By expanding its conservation effort beyond California to
Washington and Oregon, the Federal government can help ease possible
electricity shortages and reduce the risk of power outages in homes and
businesses on the West Coast.
? Keeping the Lights on in California: Secretary of Energy Bill
Richardson extended an emergency order initially invoked on December 14th
pursuant to the Federal Power Act to require generators and marketers to
make power available to keep the lights on in California.
? Providing SBA Loans to Small Businesses Hurt by Rising Energy Costs:
President Clinton will direct the Small Business Administration (SBA) to
work with its lending partners to reach out to small businesses suffering
from the burden of high energy costs. For qualified businesses, short-term
and long-term loans will be available to cushion the impact of rising
energy prices on these businesses. With an SBA-guaranteed loan, small
businesses will have sufficient cash available to continue to meet their
immediate energy needs. Additionally, these guaranteed loans will allow
them to spread their energy payments over a longer period than the payment
period typically provided by their vendors.
THESE ACTIONS BUILD ON THE SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE EXCHANGE
THAT INCREASED CRUDE OIL INVENTORIES: In September, President Clinton
directed Secretary of Energy Richardson to initiate a 30 million barrel
time exchange of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in
order to prevent a supply crisis, that could have had a particularly harsh
effect on home heating oil supplies in the Northeast. On September 20th,
just prior to the announcement of the exchange, inventories were 21 million
barrels below the same time last year. Since then, crude oil inventories
had risen to last year?s levels. The improved inventory outlook is
reflected in the lower price of crude oil, which has fallen from over $37
to under $27 per barrel. The heating oil inventory situation has also
stabilized, with distillate production over the last four weeks 11 million
barrels above the same period in 1999. As we enter winter following an
unusually cold November and December, President Clinton?s SPR time-exchange
has improved the crude oil inventories and the incentives for refiners to
continue producing heating oil needed to heat homes and businesses this
winter.
STATE BY STATE LIHEAP ALLOCATIONS: The state allocations of the LIHEAP
release follow. These amounts include funds that will be provided directly
to tribes in these states.
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| | December 30 |
| State | Allocation |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| | |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Alabama | $2,429,254 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Alaska | $1,573,057 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Arizona | $1,047,485 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Arkansas | $1,867,029 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| California | $13,785,570 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Colorado | $4,937,929 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Connecticut | $6,570,199 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Delaware | $843,643 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Dist. of Col. | $967,148 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Florida | $2,760,626 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Georgia | $3,126,957 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Hawaii | $177,792 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Idaho | $1,439,457 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Illinois | $18,540,822 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Indiana | $8,019,030 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Iowa | $5,873,400 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Kansas | $2,732,268 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Kentucky | $3,558,555 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Louisiana | $2,465,595 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Maine | $4,006,710 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Maryland | $4,768,353 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Massachusetts | $13,056,895 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Michigan | $18,053,096 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Minnesota | $12,195,356 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Mississippi | $2,112,807 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Missouri | $6,885,039 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Montana | $2,048,914 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Nebraska | $2,923,433 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Nevada | $487,986 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| New Hampshire | $2,406,536 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| New Jersey | $12,678,060 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| New Mexico | $1,598,317 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| New York | $41,136,079 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| North Carolina | $4,969,416 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| North Dakota | $2,274,696 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Ohio | $15,877,753 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Oklahoma | $2,378,196 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Oregon | $2,631,108 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Pennsylvania | $21,398,650 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Rhode Island | $2,247,960 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| South Carolina | $1,803,859 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| South Dakota | $1,913,717 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Tennessee | $3,152,012 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Texas | $6,302,398 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Utah | $2,355,698 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Vermont | $1,743,008 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Virginia | $5,049,365 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Washington | $4,160,385 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| West Virginia | $2,447,391 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Wisconsin | $11,123,552 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Wyoming | $894,297 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| Territories | $203,142 |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
| | |
| TOTAL | $300,000,000 |
| | |
| | |
|----------------+--------------|
# # #
|
