Stop fuel companies from discriminating

From Judy Kading

Creston

Rep. Mike Reasoner has the opportunity to ensure an end to the discrimination of fuel companies against low-income elderly lowans and other lowans who are not being given the opportunity to pay for deliverable fuel during this winter. Companies whose business it is to deliver fuels to rural lowans were assured they would be paid through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). As a matter of fact, I understand the money has already been made available to the companies. Now companies are refusing to deliver the fuels to the families and seniors who have cash to pay.

The Iowa Department of Human Rights, which administers Iowa’s LIHEAP program, has received scores of complaints and calls from families who have contacted vendors in order to obtain fuel to heat their homes and have been refused. This has happened even though the families have the money to pay for the service. LIHEAP families, seniors and persons with disabilities are protected by law from freezing to death or resorting to hazardous measures to stay warm by a law, which guarantees service between Nov. 1 and April. This guarantee is NOT available to families who heat with deliverable fuels. They are at risk from the practices of the Iowa companies who are refusing to sell them fuel, even though they have the money to pay for it.

Rep. Reasoner can stand up for rural elderly and low-income Iowans to ensure they stay warm by using his leadership position as vice chairman of the Commerce Committee to approve HF 2475, which would put an end to this practice of companies refusing deliverable fuels to rural low-income elderly and other Iowans, jeopardizing their health and well-being. Contact Rep. Reasoner through the toll-free AARP rural protection hotline at 1-800-480-4075 and you can connect easily with him through the Capitol switchboard.

The Senate has already passed SF 2235 with a bipartisan vote of 34-16. With the passage of this bill, the discrimination being practiced by deliverable-fuel vendors against low-income seniors, families and people with disabilities would end. Now we need the House of Representatives to see our Rep. Mike Reasoner step up to do the right thing for vulnerable Iowans so that this situation won’t happen during another cold Iowa winter. AARP is supporting this legislation, as well as the United Methodist Church, in order to ensure the health and well-being of all Iowans through access to the fuels they need to stay warm and to protect them against discrimination by unregulated companies who fall outside of the LIHEAP-regulated utilities standards.