WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) will release the remaining $335.5 million in Fiscal Year 2016 funding through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).  Through this funding, Maine will receive another $3.89 million, in addition to the $34.85 million already allocated in October 2015. 

“LIHEAP is a critically important program that helps approximately 50,000 Mainers keep warm during the winter months,” said Senators Collins and King in a joint statement.  “This funding will help ensure that low-income families and seniors do not have to choose between paying for heat and paying for other necessities such as food or medicine.  We are pleased that the Administration has moved to distribute the additional funds.”

LIHEAP is the main federal program that helps low-income households and seniors with their energy bills, providing vital assistance during both the cold winter and hot summer months.  LIHEAP households are among the most vulnerable in the country.  According to the National Energy Assistance Director's Association, more than 90 percent of LIHEAP recipients have at least one household member who is a child, elderly, or disabled, and 20 percent of households include at least one veteran.

Preserving LIHEAP funding is a priority for Senators Collins and King, and they have worked to block attempts to pare back the funding appropriated for this critical program.  Earlier this year, Senators Collins and Jack Reed (D-RI) wrote a letter signed by 38 of their colleagues, including Senator King, calling on the Administration to restore funding for LIHEAP to no less than $4.7 billion in its FY 2017 budget request.

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