Kerry, Kennedy ask Bush for home heating reserves

www.seacoastonline.com By Associated Press

BOSTON - Massachusetts Sens. John Kerry and Edward Kennedy called on President Bush Friday to release oil from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, to cope with increasing oil prices in New England.

"We write today to urge immediate action in addressing the dramatic increase in oil prices currently plaguing New England," Kerry and Kennedy said in a letter to Bush, adding that wholesale oil prices in Massachusetts had increased by 35 percent from last year.

In the letter, the senators wrote about the ongoing winter storm and below-freezing temperatures for more than two weeks that have increased emergency assistance requests by 20 percent from last year.

Oil prices were rising because of the effects of a nationwide strike in oil-rich Venezuela, uncertainty about war in Iraq and increased demand in the winter, the senators said.

About 69 percent of the nation’s 7.7 million households using heating oil are in the Northeast, Kerry and Kennedy said. They also asked Bush to release $100 million in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funds, on top of the $200 million released two weeks ago.

"That’s exactly why we worked to create the reserve, to help New England families through times just like this," Kerry said.

"With oil prices climbing by 35 percent, an exceptional cold winter and a stumbling economy, Massachusetts’ families are facing an emergency," Kennedy said, adding that the oil release would be "crucial to the health and safety of these families."