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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release July 21, 1995

PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES $100 MILLION ON EMERGENCY COOLING ASSISTANCE

The President today made available $100 million in emergency home energy assistance funds to States that recently experienced extremely hot weather.

The money will be distributed by the Department of Health and Human Services to 19 States under a formula designed to direct aid to States with the most severe weather conditions.

The Administration is authorized to distribute existing emergency funds from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), and to target the funds to those States most in need to reduce the burden of the additional energy costs on low-income families.

"The current heat wave has been very severe, especially in the Midwest, resulting in hundreds of deaths," the President said. "Chicago has been the hardest hit. This heat wave is an emergency that demands a response from the Federal Government to help ordinary Americans get through the summer.

"I am glad to be able to tell you that the Federal Government can help. Federal law gives me the authority to provide money to the States to give more energy assistance -- for cooling or heating -- to elderly and other low-income Americans in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency. States can use this money to pay cooling bills, buy fans or air conditioners, and provide other energy assistance so that elderly and other low-income families can get through the heat."

In the formula developed by the Administration, $100 million is targeted to the 19 States that were most heavily affected by the heat wave and that experienced 30 percent more cooling degree days during the week of July 9 - 15 than is normal for the period. (Cooling degree days are a standard measure of hot temperatures -- the higher the number of cooling degree days, the hotter the weather.)

The amount of funds provided to each State is also based on the number of households in the State with income under 125 percent of the poverty level.

LIHEAP provides funds to States, which in turn provide grants to low-income families to assist with home energy costs. Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala will issue the funds to States immediately.

States receiving a share of the funds are as follows:

State Allocation of Funds

Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,015,148

Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,724,820

Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5,736,187

Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4,606,870

Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5,390,489

Massachusetts . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2,311,162

Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,805,793

Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5,043,282

Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7,183,716

Nebraska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2,714,978

New Hampshire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .313,517

New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,543,960

North Dakota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .582,519

Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,244,876

Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7,405,892

Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .452,019

South Dakota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .965,762

Vermont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .246,448

Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7,712,562

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