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Senator Collins, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that $427,400,000 in Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding has been released, with $4,375,915 being allocated for residents of Maine. This release of funding follows a letter to OMB last week led by Senators Collins and Jack Reed of Rhode Island along with a bipartisan group of 35 other Senators urging the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to immediately provide the remaining LIHEAP funds that Congress passed in Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26). In addition, Senator Collins called Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to urge the release the funds.
Initially, the Administration had proposed elimination of LIHEAP. Senators Collins and Reed successfully led bipartisan efforts to provide a total of $4.045 billion for the program in FY26 – a $20 million increase over the previous year. Much of that funding has been distributed to help low-income families and seniors, with more than $38 million already distributed to households in Maine this winter.
“It is welcome news that following our recent outreach, the funding for this critical program has been released to states. LIHEAP provides vital relief to thousands of Mainers, helping them avoid the constant worry of choosing between heating their homes and covering other basic necessities
