Natural gas meter. (Photo by Bill Oxford/ Getty Images)
U.S. Rep. Jared Golden joined colleagues from both sides of the aisle in the U.S. House of Representatives asking the federal government to offer as much support as possible to low income households for heating their homes this winter.
Golden and 15 other representatives asked U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to disperse the maximum amount of funding for the federal energy assistance program, known as the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
“It is vital to ensure our seniors and low-income families are provided sufficient resources as temperatures cool in the months ahead,” the representatives said in a letter to the secretary Wednesday.
The letter asks that the funds be released immediately. A September spending deal to delay a possible government shutdown included LIHEAP funding at an annualized rate of over $4 billion, but none of that money has been sent to recipients yet, according to a news release from Golden’s office.
More than 45,000 Maine households receive LIHEAP assistance to pay for the cost of heating and cooling their homes. The federally funded program is administered by states, eligibility for which depends on income, family size and availability of resources.
“As temperatures dip below freezing at night, our agency is inundated with calls from area residents in fuel emergencies,” said Jason Parent, executive director and CEO of the Aroostook County Action Program. “This program is a critical lifeline for so many of our vulnerable seniors and families with children in Maine.”
Parent said the number of households in Aroostook County who qualify for the program has increased by 60% in the past five years. With more eligible families to divide the allotment between, the average benefit has decreased by $200, he added.
This isn’t the first time Golden and other members of Maine’s congressional delegation have stepped in to help keep Mainers warm in the winter. Last September, the delegation secured an additional $38 million in LIHEAP funding for eligible households in the state.
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