Jim Fossel rightly complains, in his Jan. 8 column, about the way Republicans worked with Democrats and the Mills administration on the heating aid bill, but he fails to note that it was their insistence on expanding eligibility to higher-earning recipients that is blowing a hole in the capacity of the state to deal with other, very real needs.

The delay, forced by more reasonable senators to review the details, sadly did not change the income formula, and erodes any claim of fiscal conservatism by the party.

Richard McSherry
Norway

Copy the Story Link