Some politicians dither (Jean Schmidt). Some do (William Delahunt).
Some oil companies ignore the poor who will freeze to death (EXXON, BP, Shell, etc.). Some help the poor (CITGO via Venezuela).
“The Boston Globe is reporting 45,000 low income families in Massachusetts will soon start getting discounted home-heating oil from a subsidiary of the Venezuelan national oil company,” reports Amy Goodman for Democracy Now!
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has offered to ship 285,000 barrels of oil to Massachusetts and sell it at a 40 percent discount. The deal was arranged by U.S. Congressman William Delahunt, the Venezuelan gas company Citgo and a Massachusetts nonprofit called Citizens Energy. Nationwide home heating oil prices are expected to increase by as much as 50 percent this winter because of rising oil prices.
More interesting quotes below — including how oil companies have IGNORED the pleas of U.S. Senators to offer help for the poor — along with a KEY POLL for YOU:
Update [2005-11-22 11:55:41 by susanhu]: Prof Marcus (at DKos) has a key diary relating to this story: Chavez on the move in the U.S. and Argentina, in which he reports that “[t]he plea came in a letter from a group of U.S. senators to nine big oil companies: With huge increases in winter heating bills expected, the letter read, we want you to donate some of your record profits to help low-income people cover those costs. …. the one response…? venezuela and hugo chávez…
Chavez is the only representative of an oil company to step up to the plate.
………………………………………..
More from the Boston Globe:
That meeting — unusual for a sitting member of Congress and a head of state so critical of the White House — sparked negotiations that led to the official announcement scheduled for today: A US subsidiary of a Venezuelan-owned company will provide 12 million gallons of discounted home heating oil to Massachusetts consumers and organizations serving the poor.
Delahunt, a Quincy Democrat who is emerging as one of his party’s leading voices in Latin American affairs, said he was simply trying to smooth strained US-Venezuelan relations while helping low-income people in his home state.
Critics said Delahunt should not be working so closely with Chávez, an outspoken leftist.
[………]
”He’s been kind of an apologist for Chávez for some time,” said Steve Johnson, a Latin American specialist at the conservative Heritage Foundation. Meeting with the leader who calls himself a revolutionary populist, Johnson said, ”is not something I’d like my congressman to be doing.”
Delahunt dismissed the criticism, saying he is doing his part to continue a dialogue with a country that is the fourth-largest provider of refined petroleum products to the United States. The heating oil agreement, he said, ”was something that wasn’t about politics, was not about the bilateral relationship. It was about people. It was genuinely humanitarian in its intention and in its impact.”
Asked if he was subverting State Department policy toward Chávez, Delahunt said, ”I don’t work for Condoleezza Rice. I don’t report to the State Department. I report to the people who elected me in the state of Massachusetts. I belong to an independent branch of government.” …
Read all at the Boston Globe.
Let the politicians bicker. In the meantime, a lot of people will be warmer this winter.
IMPORTANT: If you know anyone in Massachusetts who may qualify for help, help them contact this group: