Home Heating Guarantee Act of 1980
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
Home Heating Guarantee Act of 1980 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to establish a grant program to provide assistance to low-income households in meeting the costs of residential heating fuel. Directs the Secretary to make grants to any State agency which has been designated by State law to administer a qualifying State heating fuel assistance plan. Requires: (1) such plan provide assistance to low-income households which receive residential heating fuel from a fuel supplier (any person engaged in the business of selling residential heating fuel directly to households for their consumption) which elects to participate in such a plan; and (2) such assistance consist of direct payments by the State agency to the fuel supplier. Requires that such plan provide that: (1) any election by a fuel supplier cover all eligible households served by that supplier; and (2) such election is irrevocable for the heating season for which it was made. Sets forth the requirements which a low-income household must meet in order to qualify for assistance under a qualifying State heating fuel assistance plan. Directs the Secretary to require recertification of the eligibility of a household for each heating season as a condition of continuing assistance. Requires each eligible household to pay a specified amount of its income each month toward the cost of its residential heating fuel. Entitles any fuel supplier who has delivered residential heating fuel to an eligible household to receive from the appropriate State agency the benefits which are payable with respect to such household under a qualifying State heating fuel assistance plan. Sets forth the conditions for payment of such benefits. Sets forth the terms under which a qualifying State heating fuel assistance plan shall be administered. Authorizes the Secretary to require each fuel supplier to keep records relating to its participation in a qualifying State heating fuel assistance plan. Authorizes the Comptroller General of the United States to audit the programs, activities, and financial operations of any fuel supplier for any period during which such supplier receives qualifying State heating fuel assistance plan benefits. Prohibits a fuel supplier from refusing to deliver residential heating fuel to any eligible household which continues to make the payments prescribed in this Act. Requires a fuel supplier participating in a qualifying State heating fuel assistance plan to establish a fuel budget program which allows an eligible household to elect to make payments required under this Act in equal installments during the fiscal year in which the heating season begins. Directs the Secretary to establish a program to promote the use of fuel budget programs for households not eligible for assistance under this Act. Imposes criminal sanctions on anyone who: (1) violates this Act; (2) knowingly provides false information in any report required under this Act; or (3) makes unauthorized use of any certificate of eligibility or other document issued under a qualifying State heating fuel assistance plan.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on June 12, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on June 12, 1980: Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
ROBERT WALKER (R-PA) introduced it on June 12, 1980, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 12, 1980, 16891 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16891 days ago, on June 12, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers