To establish minimum levels of assistance for certain States under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and for other purposes.

Amends the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), from any appropriations for a fiscal year containing a qualifying winter season, to allot to each qualifying state, at least 25% of whose households use heating oil as the primary heating fuel, an amount that is at least the same as that allotted to the state for FY2010. Requires that allotments to states that do not qualify under this Act be ratably reduced if necessary to ensure the allotments to qualifying states.

Defines a "qualifying winter season" as one occurring after enactment of this Act for which the projected average price of heating oil is greater than the average price for the winter of 2011-2012.

[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6533 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6533

To establish minimum levels of assistance for certain States under the 
   Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 21, 2012

Mr. Michaud (for himself, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Grimm, Mr. Neal, Mr. Frank of 
 Massachusetts, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Welch, Mr. Higgins, Mr. King of New 
   York, Mr. Young of Alaska, Ms. Pingree of Maine, Mr. Guinta, Mr. 
Serrano, Mr. Langevin, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Towns, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Tonko, Mr. 
   Hinchey, Mr. Tierney, Mr. Courtney, and Mr. Olver) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
    Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the 
 Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish minimum levels of assistance for certain States under the 
   Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. STATE ALLOTMENTS.

    Section 2604 of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 
(42 U.S.C. 8623) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1), by inserting ``or subsection (f)'' after ``subsection 
        (a)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(f)(1) Notwithstanding subsection (a), of the amount appropriated 
pursuant to section 2602(b) for a fiscal year containing a qualifying 
winter season, the Secretary shall allot to each qualifying State an 
amount that is not less than the amount allotted to such State for 
fiscal year 2010, and ratably reduce the amounts allotted under this 
section to States that are not qualifying States if necessary to ensure 
the allotments to qualifying States.
    ``(2) For the purposes of this subsection--
            ``(A) the term `qualifying State' means a State in which 
        not less than 25 percent of households use heating oil as the 
        primary heating fuel, as determined by the Secretary; and
            ``(B) the term `qualifying winter season' means a winter 
        season occurring after the date of enactment of this subsection 
        for which the Secretary determines that the projected average 
        price of heating oil is greater than the average price of 
        heating oil for the winter of 2011-2012.
    ``(3) This subsection shall not be effective for a fiscal year if 
the sums appropriated pursuant to section 2602(b) for such fiscal year 
are not sufficient to pay in full the total amount required to be 
allocated to all qualifying States under paragraph (1).''.
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