PORTLAND (AP) – The director of the Office of Management and Budget has agreed to release $131 million that remains in a fund for heating assistance for low-income families across the country, Sen. Susan Collins learned Tuesday. Collins and Sen. Olympia Snowe had asked OMB Director Jim Nussle to release the money, which expires at month’s end. Rather than let the money vanish, they proposed releasing money to let people top off their heating oil tanks before cold weather sets in.
Collins’ office received word Tuesday evening about the money from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. A formal announcement is expected Wednesday.
Some 4.5 million low-income families, including more than 46,000 in Maine, rely on the federal program to help meet their heating needs.
The Maine State Housing Authority requires oil dealers participating in the LIHEAP program to provide an extra discount to those low-income consumers to stretch dollars.
As of last week, 86 percent of the oil dealers who participated last season have signed contracts for the upcoming heating season, said Dale McCormick, director of the Maine State Housing Authority, which oversees the program.
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