Markey Ridicules Change On Energy Dept. Web Site

Fortunately, much of the Department's praise was preserved in the above screen shot and can be enlarged by clicking on the image.

Words of praise for an Energy Department weatherization program were removed from its Web site shortly after the program was proposed for elimination in President Bush's FY09 budget Monday, House Global Warming Chairman Markey said Thursday.

The weatherization assistance program that enables low-income families to reduce energy bills through home-efficiency measures was billed on the Web site Monday as "this country's longest running, and perhaps most successful energy efficiency program," Markey said at a hearing on the department budget.

The line was erased by Wednesday, after the budget proposal called for eliminating the program. "Instead of insulating the poor against high energy costs, the Department of Energy is more concerned with insulating themselves against embarrassment," Markey said.

Energy spokeswoman Julie Ruggiero said the language was removed during a regular update of the Web site. "We proposed to cut [the weatherization program] because its funding competes with key investments," she added.