Maine to get $5.2 million for heating assistance

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, and Angus King, I-Maine, a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, recently announced the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will release $5,282,021 in funding for Maine through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

The amount includes $193,000 for tribes and tribal organizations. Maine will receive a total of $40,264,690 for LIHEAP in fiscal year 2018 — an increase of more than $1 million over the previous year.
“Access to affordable home energy during the cold winter months is a matter of health and safety for many low-income families and seniors in Maine and across the country,” said Collins and King in a joint statement. “This funding is welcome news, as these programs remain important lifelines that help prevent vulnerable individuals from having to choose between heating their home, paying their bills, or going without food or medicine.”
Collins and King have long led bipartisan efforts to support federal funding for LIHEAP and weatherization programs according to a news release.