As I travel through my district, an important concern I hear frequently is that of ever-rising gasoline prices and the threat of skyrocketing home heating fuel costs this winter. Over the last several weeks, we have seen the price of a gallon of gasoline rise to over $3 – with no relief in sight. The increased cost of motor fuel and the pending price hike in home heating fuels are making residents anxious about the upcoming winter and their family budgets.
Fortunately for New Yorkers, the state Senate answered the calls of residents and business owners and came back to Albany recently to pass meaningful legislation that would immediately help consumers and our commercial industries.
Now it’s time for Speaker Sheldon Silver and his majority members to call the Assembly back to Albany for a special session to address the state’s current and pending energy crisis. We must pass legislation that would help consumers endure the pains at the pump and in their upcoming heating bills.
A significant piece of legislation the Senate passed – and the Assembly should vote on – is a cash rebate for our senior citizens to offset the higher prices of heating fuels this winter. It is the state Legislature’s responsibility to protect New York’s most needy residents, and this legislation will directly help our seniors, many of whom are on fixed incomes.
I applaud the state Senate for addressing the energy needs and concerns of all New Yorkers, and I hope the Assembly majority follows suit. Right now, working families, seniors and low-wage workers are being disproportionately affected by increasing fuel costs, and it’s our duty to help ease that burden.
The state Assembly should be more proactive, rather than reactive, in these difficult fiscal times. We do not have the luxury of waiting until the 2006 regular legislative session to address real problems that hurt New Yorkers in profound ways right now. The Assembly has a real opportunity to help New Yorkers get through this energy crisis and also prove its ability to be in the forefront when safeguarding its residents.