Governor asks President to release heating assistance dollars

Two thousand Iowans who qualify for state assistance to pay their utility bills haven’t gotten any money. The state’s “Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program” — called LIHEAP — is out of funds. Governor Tom Vilsack’s asking President Bush to release some emergency money, now. Jerry McKim, director of the so-called LIHEAP program, says Bush could release up to 300-million dollars. Iowa’s share of that would be five-point-nine million. The average benefit for a household is about $560.Governor Vilsack sent President Bush a letter yesterday, saying some families “are still struggling to pay last year’s extraordinarily high heating bills” and the emergency money’s needed. This past winter there was a 35-percent jump in the number of applications from low income Iowans seeking help with their utility bills.