We can understand why some people are cynical about government.

At a time of record high oil prices, when unemployment is going up along with the cost of food, the Bush administration proposed cutting funds for the program that helps low-income families weatherize their homes. And Congress, locked in election-year political battles, did little to stop the administration. Instead, lawmakers left town without giving the program the money it needs.

Which means they've left needy Americans out in the cold.

Congress gave the program $241 million last year. This year, the Department of Energy asked only for $201 million -- despite the fact that the program has been proven to help low-income families lower their heating bills by 32 percent and there are many more needy families this year than last. It helps homeowners make permanent, energy-efficient improvements that will pay back year after year, rather than just giving one-time assistance to help families pay for heat, such as the payments awarded by the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP.

A bipartisan group of New England legislators, including all of Maine's delegation, pushed for increased funding for weatherizing, as well as more money for LIHEAP, but to no avail. Caught up in a fierce battle between Democrats and Republicans about whether high energy prices would be solved by legislation to punish oil companies and speculators or by legislation to expand offshore oil drilling -- in fact, neither would help now -- the programs simply didn't offer enough partisan points to get traction. Congress took its leave without making any progress on energy legislation.

Said Republican Sen. Susan Collins, "There is nothing more important that Congress should be dealing with now. I am profoundly disappointed that Congress will take this August break without acting on the comprehensive energy legislation that is needed to combat high energy prices (and) provide increased funding for weatherization and Low-Income Heating Assistance."

Besides leaving the nation's families in the lurch, Congress' lack of action leaves Maine Gov. John Baldacci with a big challenge.

Heating-oil prices have surged from $2.57 per gallon last December to more than $4 per gallon today. According to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, an organization representing state agencies that help low-income families with their energy costs, heating costs this winter will rise to almost $2,600, which is $1,100 more than two years ago. While the LIHEAP program can help defray a small portion of a family's energy costs, now is the time to cut those costs even further by weatherizing Maine homes.

That's now -- not when the weather has turned cold.

But without significant federal funds, Baldacci is going to have to find the money elsewhere for all that insulation and weather-stripping, as well as for heating assistance. The governor says the lack of federal action means he's considering pulling the Legislature back into session to discuss how to pay for immediate assistance, but he recognizes the cost could be prohibitive. At $40,000 per day for a special legislative session, that's a lot of weatherizing and heating oil that could be paid for instead.

So he's done the right thing and asked his staff to work with the Public Utilities Commission and the Maine State Housing Authority to identify money that can be shifted from other programs, without the need for legislative approval. Baldacci also said the state's $170 million in reserve funds could be tapped for energy assistance. And he, as well as legislative leaders, have not ruled out a special session.

Yet in the end, this is a problem whose magnitude requires a federal response. And for the moment, the federal response has been to get out of town.