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103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4085

To amend the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 to reauthorize appropriations for fiscal years 1996 through 1999, remove impediments to the exercise of States’ discretion to shape their programs

and to concentrate their resources on those with the greatest home

energy needs, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 17, 1994

Mr. MARTINEZ (for himself, Mr. SHARP, Mr. FORD of Michigan, and Mr. DINGELL) introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the

Committees on Education and Labor and Energy and Commerce

A BILL

To amend the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act

of 1981 to reauthorize appropriations for fiscal years

1996 through 1999, remove impediments to the exercise

of States’ discretion to shape their programs and to

concentrate their resources on those with the greatest

home energy needs, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 That this Act be cited as the ‘‘Low-Income Home Energy

4 Assistance Amendments of 1994’’.
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1 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

2 Section 2602(a) of the Low-Income Home Energy

3 Assistance Act of 1981 (hereafter referred to as the

4 ‘‘Act’’) is amended to read as follows:

5 ‘‘SEC. 2602(a). In order to assist low-income house6 holds, particularly those that pay a high proportion of

7 their income for home energy, both in meeting their imme8 diate home energy needs, and in attaining the capacity to

9 meet such needs independently in the future, the Secretary

10 of Health and Human Services is authorized to make

11 grants to States for programs and activities consistent

12 with the provisions of this title.’’.

13 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

14 (a) AMOUNTS AUTHORIZED.—(1) Section 2602(b) of

15 the Act is amended by striking out all after ‘‘this title’’

16 in the first sentence and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘such

17 sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 1995,

18 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999.’’.

19 (2) Section 2602(d) of the Act is amended to read

20 as follows:

21 ‘‘(d)(1) There are authorized to be appropriated to

22 carry out section 2607A $50,000,000 for each of fiscal

23 years 1995 and 1996, $60,000,000 for fiscal year 1997,

24 $70,000,000 for fiscal year 1998, and $80,000,000 for fis25 cal year 1999, except that, if the amount appropriated

26 pursuant to subsection (b) does not exceed the amount
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1 specified in paragraph (2) for a fiscal year, the amount

2 authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 2607A

3 for such fiscal year shall be $50,000,000.

4 ‘‘(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the amount

5 specified is—

6 ‘‘(A) for fiscal year 1997, the amount appro7 priated pursuant to subsection (b) for fiscal year

8 1996,

9 ‘‘(B) for fiscal year 1998, the amount so appro10 priated for fiscal year 1997, and

11 ‘‘(C) for fiscal year 1999, the amount so appro12 priated for fiscal year 1998,

13 or, if greater, the amount so appropriated for fiscal year

14 1995.’’.

15 (b) PERIOD FOR WHICH APPROPRIATION IS MADE;

16 REPEAL OF PROGRAM YEAR.—Section 2602 of the Act

17 is amended—

18 (1) by repealing subsection (c),

19 (2) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub20 section (c), and

21 (3) by amending the second sentence of sub22 section (b) to read as follows: ‘‘Amounts appro23 priated pursuant to this subsection or subsection (c)

24 in an appropriations Act for a fiscal year shall be
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1 available for carrying out this title in the following

2 fiscal year.

3 SEC. 4. EMERGENCY FUNDS.

4 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

5 2602 of the Act is amended by adding at the end thereof

6 the following new subsection:

7 ‘‘(d) There are authorized to be appropriated in any

8 fiscal year for payments under this title, in addition to

9 amounts appropriated for distribution to all the States in

10 accordance with section 2604 (other than subsection (g)),

11 such sums as may be necessary to meet additional home

12 energy assistance needs of one or more States arising from

13 a natural disaster or other emergency. Funds appro14 priated pursuant to this authorization are hereby des15 ignated to be emergency requirements pursuant to section

16 251(b)(2)(D) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency

17 Deficit Control Act of 1985, except that such funds shall

18 be made available only after submission to Congress of

19 a formal budget request by the President (for all or a part

20 of the appropriation pursuant to this subsection) that in21 cludes designation of the amount requested as an emer22 gency requirement as defined in such Act.’’.

23 (b) ALLOTMENT OF EMERGENCY FUNDS.—Section

24 2604 of the Act is amended by adding at the end thereof

25 the following new subsection:
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1 ‘‘(g) The Secretary may allot amounts appropriated

2 pursuant to section 2602(d) to one or more than one

3 State, and without regard to the preceding subsections

4 this section. The Secretary shall take into account, in de5 termining to which State or States additional funds will

6 be provided, the extent to which a State was affected by

7 the emergency or disaster, the availability to an affected

8 State of other resources under this or any other program,

9 and such other factors as the Secretary finds relevant.’’.

10 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZED USES OF FUNDS.

11 Section 2605(b)(1) of the Act is amended to read as

12 follows:

13 ‘‘(1) use the funds available under this title to

14 conduct outreach activities and provide assistance to

15 low-income households, particularly those that pay a

16 high proportion of their income for home energy, to

17 intervene in energy crisis situations, and, to the ex18 tent found appropriate by the State, to encourage

19 and enable households to attain, to the maximum ex20 tent feasible, home energy self-sufficiency, to provide

21 low-cost residential weatherization and other cost22 effective residential repairs or improvements related

23 to energy use, to provide energy conservation edu24 cation, and to plan, develop, and administer the

25 State’s program under this title including leveraging
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1 programs, and the State agrees not to use such

2 funds for any purposes other than those specified in

3 this title;’’.

4 SEC. 6. TARGETING OF ASSISTANCE TO HOUSEHOLDS WITH

5 HIGH HOME-ENERGY BURDENS.

6 (a) Section 2605(b)(2)(B) of the Act is amended by

7 striking out ‘‘except that’’ and all that follows and insert8 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘except that a State may not exclude

9 a household from eligibility in a fiscal year solely on the

10 basis of its income if its income is less than 110 percent

11 of the poverty level for such State, but the State may give

12 priority to those households with the highest home energy

13 costs or needs in relation to income;’’.

14 (b) Section 2605(b)(3) of the Act is amended by

15 striking out ‘‘are made aware’’ and inserting in lieu there16 of ‘‘and households with high home energy burdens, are

17 made aware’’.

18 (c) Section 2605(b)(5) of the Act is amended by in19 serting ‘‘or needs’’ immediately after ‘‘highest energy

20 costs’’.

21 (d) Section 2605(c)(1) of the Act is amended—

22 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) and

23 (F) as subparagraphs (F) and (G), respectively, and

24 (2) by inserting after and below subparagraph

25 (D) the following:
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1 ‘‘(E) describes any steps that will be taken (in

2 addition to those necessary to carry out the assur3 ance in clause (5) of subsection (b)) to target assist4 ance to households with high home energy bur5 dens;’’.

6 SEC. 7. REMOVAL OF CONSTRAINT ON SECRETARIAL PRO7 GRAM GUIDANCE.

8 The first sentence immediately following paragraph

9 (14) of section 2605(b) of the Act is repealed.

10 SEC. 8. CLARIFICATION OF AUDIT REQUIREMENT.

11 Section 2605 of the Act is amended—

12 (1) in subsection (b)(10) by striking out ‘‘and

13 provide that’’ and all that follows and inserting in

14 lieu thereof ‘‘and provide that the State will comply

15 with the provisions of chapter 75 of title 31 of the

16 United States Code (popularly known as the ‘Single

17 Audit Act’);’’, and

18 (2) in subsection (e), by striking out ‘‘at least

19 every two years’’ and all that follows and inserting

20 in lieu thereof ‘‘in accordance with chapter 75 of

21 title 31 of the United States Code.’’.
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1 SEC. 9. USE OF DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY WEATHERIZA2 TION RULES TO ACHIEVE PROGRAM CON3 SISTENCY.

4 Section 2605(c)(1)(D) of the Act is amended by in5 serting before the semicolon at the end thereof ‘‘, including

6 any steps the State will take to address the weatherization

7 and energy-related home repair needs of households that

8 have disproportionately high home energy costs or needs

9 in relation to household income, and describes the rules

10 promulgated by the Department of Energy for administra11 tion of its Low Income Weatherization Assistance Pro12 gram which the State, to the extent permitted by the Sec13 retary to increase consistency between federally assisted

14 programs, will follow regarding the use of funds provided

15 under this title by the State for such weatherization and

16 energy-related home repairs and improvements’’.

17 SEC. 10. MATTERS TO BE DESCRIBED IN ANNUAL APPLICA18 TION.

19 Section 2605(c)(1) is amended—

20 (1) by striking out ‘‘and (13)’’ in subparagraph

21 (E) and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘(13), and (15)’’,

22 (2) by striking out ‘‘and’’ after such subpara23 graph, and

24 (3) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as sub25 paragraph (G) and inserting after and below sub26 paragraph (E) the following new subparagraph:
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1 ‘‘(F) states, with respect to the 12-month

2 period specified by the Secretary, the number

3 and income levels of households assisted with

4 funds provided under this title, and the number

5 of households so assisted with (i) a member

6 who had attained age 60, (ii) a member who

7 was disabled, and (iii) one or more young chil8 dren; and’’.

9 SEC. 11. REPORT OF FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR OBLIGATION.

10 Section 2607 of the Act is amended by redesignating

11 subsection (a) as subsection (a)(1) and by adding after

12 and below such subsection the following new paragraph:

13 ‘‘(2) Each State shall notify the Secretary, not

14 later than two months prior to the close of a fiscal

15 year, of the amount (if any) of its allotment for such

16 year that will not be obligated in such year, and, if

17 it chooses to submit a request described in sub18 section (b)(2), it shall submit such request at the

19 same time. The Secretary shall make no payment

20 under paragraph (1) to a State for a fiscal year un21 less the State has complied with this paragraph with

22 respect to the prior fiscal year.’’.

23 SEC. 12. MINOR AND TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

24 (a) MINOR AMENDMENTS.—(1) Section 2605(b)(7)

25 of the Act is amended—
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1 (A) by adding ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon after

2 subparagraph (B),

3 (B) by amending subparagraph (C) to read as

4 follows:

5 ‘‘(C) assure that the home energy supplier will

6 not treat households receiving assistance under this

7 title less favorably than other households to which it

8 supplies home energy, and will comply with all provi9 sions under or pursuant to State law prohibiting ad10 verse or discriminatory treatment of such house11 holds;’’; and

12 (C) by repealing subparagraph (D).

13 (2) Section 2607A(e) of the Act is amended by strik14 ing out ‘‘July 31, of each year’’ and inserting in lieu there15 of ‘‘two months after the close of the fiscal year during

16 which the State provided leveraged resources to eligible

17 households, as described in subsection (b)’’.

18 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—(1) Section 2602(b)

19 of the Act is amended by inserting ‘‘(other than section

20 22607)’’ immediately after ‘‘to carry out the provisions of

21 this title’’, and by striking out the second period at the

22 end thereof.

23 (2) Section 2603 of the Act is amended—

24 (A) by striking out ‘‘the’’ in paragraph (2) and

25 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘The’’, and
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1 (B) by striking out the semicolon at the end of

2 such paragraph and inserting in lieu thereof a pe3 riod.

4 (3) Section 2605(b) of the Act is amended by placing

5 immediately after and below paragraph (15) the sentence

6 that immediately precedes such paragraph.

7 (4)(A) Section 2605(b)(3) of the Act is amended by

8 striking out ‘‘handicapped’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

9 ‘‘disabled’’.

10 (B) Section 2610(a)(5) of the Act is amended—

11 (i) by striking out ‘‘handicapped’’ and inserting

12 in lieu thereof ‘‘disabled’’; and

13 (ii) by inserting before the semicolon at the end

14 thereof ‘‘or include young children’’.

15 (5) Section 2607A(c)(2) of the Act is amended by

16 striking out ‘‘.0008 percent’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

17 ‘‘0.08 percent’’.

18 (6) Section 2610(a)(2) of Act is amended by striking

19 out the semicolon after ‘‘used’’ and inserting it after

20 ‘‘title’’.

21 SEC. 13. EFFECTIVE DATE.

22 The amendments and repeals made by this Act shall

23 become effective October 1, 1994.

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