The Senate Tuesday approved an additional $10.8 million for home heating assistance for about 27,000 Vermont households, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Patrick Leahy announced.  With low temperatures forecast to fall into the teens this week in Vermont, the funding was included in a bill to keep the federal government running until March 4.

The House was poised to pass the same bill before Congress adjourns for the holidays - perhaps as early as Tuesday evening.

Vermont and other states had faced the prospect of a 40 percent cut in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps senior citizens on fixed incomes, families with children and the disabled.

Sanders said, “At a time when heating oil prices are skyrocketing and temperatures are falling, this critically-important program will help insure that no one in Vermont goes cold this winter. During these very difficult times, seniors on fixed incomes and families with children shouldn’t have to make the unacceptable choice between heating their homes and putting food on the table.”