PORTLAND (AP) — The Trump administration is once again calling for the complete elimination of a heating assistance program that helps to keep the homes of low-income families warm. And once again, program supporters are vowing to fight it. The administration is using the same arguments from a year ago when it tried to abolish […]
LIHEAP
Posted inMaine
Trump once again wants to cut energy assistance to the poor
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Trump administration is once again calling for the complete elimination of a heating assistance program that helps to keep the homes of low-income families warm. And once again, program supporters are vowing to fight it. The administration is using the same arguments from a year ago when it tried to […]
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Posted inMaine, Nation / World
Trump budget would kill funds for many programs in Maine
President Trump released a proposed budget for the next fiscal year Monday that, if enacted, would have serious consequences across Maine. The sweeping plan again proposes to eliminate the programs that provide heating oil to low-income Mainers, legal aid to indigent citizens, and grants to towns and cities to rehabilitate housing, infrastructure, and services. It […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine's senators push Trump to cough up cash for heating assistance
After turning back President Donald Trump’s bid to eliminate heating assistance for low-income families, Maine’s two senators are calling on the administration to release funding for the program as quickly as possible. “Access to affordable home energy is a matter of health and safety for many low-income households, children, and seniors in Maine,” Republican U.S. […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Advocates urge Congress to preserve heating assistance program
AUGUSTA (AP) — More than 30 attorneys general and state consumer advocate agencies are urging Congress to reject plans by the administration of President Donald Trump to eliminate the federal heating assistance program, including northern New England representatives. The program distributes $3.4 billion to about 6 million households. The representatives say the Low Income Home […]
Posted inFranklin, Lewiston-Auburn, Oxford Hills
Calling all elderly: LIHEAP wants you
LEWISTON — Heating assistance officials say too few Maine seniors are getting heating help because they aren’t asking for it. And they want seniors to ask for that help. The Low Income Heating Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, is a federal program that helps families pay for heat. The Maine State Housing Authority receives the federal funding […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Food stamp changes to have slight effect on Maine LIHEAP
WASHINGTON — Cuts to the nation’s food stamp program enacted this year are only affecting four states, far from the sweeping overhaul that Republicans had pushed, an Associated Press review has found. As a result, it’s unclear whether the law will realize the estimated $8.6 billion in savings over 10 years that the GOP had […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Heating assistance funds in high demand as Mainers struggle through a cold winter
HANCOCK — When asked how much time she spends thinking about staying warm, Heidi Halpin, 46, laughed. “Pretty much all day,” she said, seated in her living room next to her mother, Mary Jo Halpin, 66. The pair live together in Hancock. They both have diabetes and Heidi also has multiple sclerosis, so neither can […]
Posted inMaine, New England, sj-web
New England governors press Congress on heating oil program
BOSTON (AP) — The governors of all six New England states have signed a letter urging Congress to support a federal program aimed at helping lower-income families and seniors cover their home heating costs. The governors are asking Congress to approve $3.6 billion for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which they describe as “a […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine to get almost $34 million in heating aid
PORTLAND — Maine is getting nearly $34 million in federal heating assistance funds. U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud’s office says the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is making available $2.9 billion nationwide from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance program, or LIHEAP, of which Maine’s share is $33.8 million. DHHS says it plans to […]