WASHINGTON, D.C.—In order to help low-income families fill their oil tanks before the arrival of winter weather, Senators Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins are pleased to announce that the Bush administration has agreed to immediately release $79.9 million from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) emergency fund. Maine will receive a total of $7.1 million.
“We are pleased that the Administration has agreed to release these funds,” said Senators Snowe and Collins in a joint statement. “The end of summer, and the eventual arrival of cold winter weather, will cause a rise in demand for heating oil and could increase heating oil prices. The release of these funds will help our neediest citizens fill their oil tanks now, and will be a more efficient use of these funds.”
LIHEAP is a federal block grant program that provides states with annual funding to operate home energy assistance programs for low-income households.
Each year, 4.5 million low-income families, including about 46,450 households in Maine, rely on LIHEAP to assist with the costs of heating their homes. LIHEAP is a federal block grant program that provides states with annual funding to operate home energy assistance programs for low-income households. In addition to helping to pay energy bills for low-income families and the elderly, LIHEAP helps to fund energy crisis intervention programs, low-cost residential weatherization and other energy-related home repairs.
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