Democratic U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen calls Trump administration plans to zero out home heating and cooling help for "very low-income" people "cruel."
The president’s spending plans recently forwarded to Congress would eliminate the $4 billion Low Income Home Energy Assistance program, or LIHEAP. The administration has also laid off all staff that administer LIHEAP. About $378 million remains to be distributed under current congressional authorization.
Sorensen said during an online news conference with reporters that it should not be about politics but about making sure people are cared for.
"I want people to understand what this administration is doing. If you need help, to stay warm in the wintertime, screw you," said Sorensen, whose districts includes parts of Bloomington-Normal and Greater Peoria.
LIHEAP provides heating and cooling assistance to about 6.2 million very low-income households. About 286,000 live in Illinois, according to the LIHEAP clearinghouse.
Sorensen said the Trump administration proposed cuts make him feel like the country is going back in time to when America didn't care for its neighbors.
SNAP (Food aid)
Sorensen sits on the House Agriculture Committee, which is considering $230 billion in proposed Trump administration cuts to the SNAP food aid program. That is 20% of the current program, but less than a $400 billion reduction proposed earlier.
Sorensen said the reductions are un-American. He said 20-30% percent of people checking out at his neighborhood grocery rely on SNAP. If you had food deserts before, he said, wait till that cut goes through.
"What happens when Albertson's, which owns my Jewel store, loses 25% profit there? They're going to go out of business. They'll close my neighborhood store in the Quad Cities. But also, you're going to see Schnuck's do the same thing. You're going to see Hy-Vee do the same thing. They're all going to do the same thing," said Sorensen.
He said food pantry lines will be down the block if the cuts happen.
Sorensen said 64,000 families in his district rely on SNAP. That district includes portions of Peoria and McLean counties.
He noted House leadership this week postponed a committee meeting on the reduction. He said he suspects that's because GOP members are wavering because it hurts their constituents.
SNAP has historically been a key part of the Farm Bill, attracting urban Democratic congressional votes. The political calculus tends to balance SNAP with support for crop insurance and other disaster assistance for farmers that traditionally has had less appeal to urban members of Congress.
The Farm Bill is now two years beyond its five-year authorization, and negotiators hope to pass a re-authorization this year or next.
Rural broadband
Sorensen is taking another stab at improving fiber-based rural broadband internet access even though the Trump administration favors commercially available satellite-based service. Sorensen has added Republican lawmakers as sponsors for two measures to boost rural broadband access. He said that could help the measures pass.
Sorensen said broadband for rural areas is about more than kids doing homework.
"It's senior citizens that are doing those doctors' visits from their home now, on their smartphones. You can't do precision agriculture if you don't have broadband," he said.
Sorensen said the Rural Broadband Assistance Act would try to make it easier for small town governments to get help applying for existing federal money.
"Not every city in our district can afford to have or hire a grant writer. And so, what this will do is allow our smaller hometowns to be part of the solution," said Sorensen.
The second bill, the ReConnecting Rural America Act, would reauthorize an existing Agriculture department broadband program within the Farm Bill and requires internet faster connection speeds. He said there is no additional spending authority required in one of the measures, and the other could be budget neutral as well.
The Trump administration has paused rural broadband program payments in advance of rules changes that are expected to favor Elon Musk-owned Starlink and other satellite internet companies.
Sorensen said fiber broadband is an investment in rural communities, something that many red-state lawmakers should like.
