Collins touts early release of home heating assistance money

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who is facing a tough reelection fight, on Friday touted the early release of funds to help low-income people heat their homes.

“After my conversations with the HHS [Health and Human Services] Secretary and OMB [Office of Management and Budget] Director this week, more than $38 million in federal home heating assistance will be released to help Maine families,” Collins said on the social platform X.

“This is one of the earliest releases of LIHEAP funding. This announcement comes at a critical time, as rising home heating oil prices are placing significant financial pressure on Mainers,” she added, referring to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

Collins’s announcement comes as fuel prices, including heating oil, which is commonly used in the Northeast, have spiked amid the U.S.-Iran war and Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil refineries.

The high prices have put pressure on Americans’ wallets — and on candidates seeking reelection.

In a recent debate, Collins’s Democratic opponent, Troy Jackson, called for more LIHEAP money, expanding eligibility and ending the war in Iran.

Collins during the debate mentioned her talks with the Trump administration to ask for early relief and called for expanding the program and expanding programs to help people weatherize their homes.

While LIHEAP has significant bipartisan support in Congress, the Trump administration has been critical of the program, repeatedly proposing to defund it in budget requests to Congress. The administration also fired staffers working on the program last year.

In an email to The Hill, Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, which represents state-level LIHEAP directors, praised the decision as a meaningful step. He said he hopes Congress will also devote more money to the program.

“This is record time. Usually we don’t see the money for 30 days. This will definitely help cold weather states get their programs started early … and provide immediate relief to families using heating oil,” Wolfe said in an email.

“Hopefully it’s the first step in addressing the need for additional money…as prices for heating oil continue to hit record levels,” he added.

Collins is the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, whose bills dictate federal spending.