WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg joined fellow Republicans yesterday in blocking the Senate from considering a bill next week that would nearly double federal aid to help the poor pay heating and air-conditioning bills.

Gregg is a sponsor of the bill.

Gregg said he voted against considering the bill to help ensure the Senate does not postpone addressing the skyrocketing costs of oil and energy. The Senate's focus, he said, should be on debating the energy speculation bill and a comprehensive energy plan to reduce energy prices through increased oil and gas exploration and conservation.

►Gregg would double home heating aid (2)
►Tripled heat aid sought in Congress (9)

In a statement released by his office, the state's senior senator said, "People in New Hampshire and in other cold weather states are rightfully concerned as we head into the winter about how they are going to pay their heating bills as the costs have jumped dramatically in the last year. I believe very strongly that the best way to address the issue of making energy affordable for low-income and middle-income people in New Hampshire, and throughout our nation, is boosting more American production and increasing conservation. Only by addressing the basic laws of supply and demand will Congress help bring down the price of energy."

U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu voted to allow the bill to be considered next week.

"New Hampshire's low-income families and seniors need to know Congress is on their side when it comes to helping them with record-high heating bills expected this winter," he said in a press release.

Sununu is a co-sponsor of the legislation.

"With home heating oil at over $4 per gallon, there is no time to waste; these bills will double funding levels for a program critical to the Granite State," Sununu said.

Although a dozen Senate Republicans support the measure, most, including Gregg, voted with GOP leaders who would rather spend the time trumpeting their call to expand offshore oil drilling before Congress takes six weeks off for vacation and the presidential nominating conventions.

"The American resources on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts contain 14 billion barrels at a minimum ... more than we have imported from the Persian Gulf in the last 15 years," said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M.

Democrats needed 60 votes to substitute the measure on heating and air-conditioning aid in place of the debate on an expansion of offshore drilling championed by President Bush and GOP presidential candidate John McCain. They got 50 votes yesterday, with 35 Republicans voting against changing the topic.

"Do we vote to keep the old, the sick and kids alive when the weather gets cold or very, very hot, or do we spend money on people who make huge campaign contributions? That is part of what this debate is about," said Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont.

The government is devoting $2.6 billion in subsidies for helping people with low incomes pay heating and air-conditioning bills this year. Sanders' bill would nearly double that to $5.1 billion.

If Sanders' amendment had gone forward, said Gregg, he could not have introduced a more fiscally responsible amendment boosting the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and addressing home heating oil tax relief for middle-income households.

He said the $2.5 billion boost in funding would be fully offset by reducing other areas of the federal budget to pay for it.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.