CITGO Heating Oil Donations Returning to Alaska
Aerial view of Alegnagik, a rural village in Southwest Alaska. (image: toddraden via flickr.com)
Last week CITGO, the US distribution arm of Venezuela’s state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), announced that it would renew its controversial Heating Oil Program, which provides fuel vouchers to needy American families struggling to heat their homes. So far, the corporation plans to provide nearly 1.9 million gallons of heating oil to 17,000 Alaskan families, most of whom live in rural villages, the Alaska Dispatch reported on Thursday; whether or not there are plans to extend the program to families in other states has not yet been made clear.
The Heating Oil Program began in the winter of 2006, after thirteen US senators sent letters to major oil companies asking for heating oil aid for lower-income residents in northern states. As it happened, CITGO was the only one to respond. The company began working with Massachusetts-based Citizens Energy, headed by Joseph P. Kennedy II., which administers the program in the states and considers applications for aid. In January of 2008, Kennedy’s office disclosed that in order to qualify for oil vouchers, a family’s household income must not exceed 60 percent of the state median. Since 2006, the program has annually provided free heating oil to 200,000 low-income households in 23 states.
As one might expect of a charity headed by Hugo Chavez, the leftist leader of Venezuela, the Heating Oil Program has caused much controversy. The right has criticized Chavez’s supposed generosity as a mere ploy to undermine American values with communist sentimentality. However, supporters have argued that Chavez’s political leanings are totally irrelevant so long as he’s helping thousands of American’s heat their homes. With capitalistic acumen, Kennedy has said of the program, “It’s not only morally righteous, it’s good business.”
