缅因州迎取暖季利好：联邦提前发放超3800万美元低收入家庭能源援助
美国联邦参议员苏珊·柯林斯（缅因州共和党人）10月9日（周五）宣布，联邦卫生与公众服务部社区服务办公室将提前发放超过3800万美元的“低收入家庭能源援助计划”（LIHEAP）资金，帮助缅因州低收入家庭和固定收入老人支付能源账单。这是该项目历史上最早的发放之一。其中，缅因州政府将获得36,675,395美元，缅因州各部落将获得1,408,729美元。部落资金明细为：普莱森特点帕萨马科迪部落457,771美元、印第安镇帕萨马科迪部落316,098美元、佩诺布斯科特民族303,530美元、胡尔顿马利西特印第安人部落和米克马克民族各165,665美元。柯林斯表示，本周她已与卫生部长小罗伯特·F·肯尼迪和白宫预算办公室主任罗素·沃特通话，敦促政府提前发放这笔援助。“取暖油价格飞涨，缅因州许多低收入家庭和靠固定收入生活的老人今年冬天将面临极高的取暖账单。正因如此，我敦促政府加快发放这笔关键援助，也正因如此，我一直努力保护并增加LIHEAP的拨款。我很高兴这些资金正在发放，帮助缅因人温暖过冬，而不必在取暖和其他基本生活开支之间二选一，”柯林斯说。此次提前发放正值缅因家庭面临创纪录的取暖成本。州长米尔斯政府此前表示，家用取暖油均价已创下每加仑6.02美元的历史纪录。缅因州冬季漫长、燃油取暖依赖度高，取暖费是家庭开支中的大头，这个冬天可能是有史以来最贵的一个取暖季。LIHEAP每年为全美约620万户家庭提供冷暖费用补助；去年缅因州家庭通过该项目获得了4,160万美元援助。该项目在国会两党支持广泛，但特朗普政府多次在预算提案中要求取消该项目，去年还解雇了负责该项目的部分工作人员。柯林斯与杰克·里德（罗得岛州民主党）、丽莎·穆尔科斯基（阿拉斯加州共和党）牵头两党努力，在2026财年为LIHEAP争取到40.45亿美元拨款——比上年增加2,000万美元，推翻了政府取消该项目的提议。这笔资金的发放也正值柯林斯艰难的连任选战。本周的参议院电视辩论上，她的民主党挑战者特洛伊·杰克逊呼吁加大LIHEAP投入、扩大受益范围；柯林斯则在辩论中提到自己正与联邦政府沟通提前发放，并推动扩大房屋保温改造援助。
Senator Collins Announces Early Release of More Than $38 Million in Federal Home Heating Aid for Maine
U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced Friday, October 9, that the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Community Services will release more than $38 million in Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding to help low-income Maine households and seniors on fixed incomes afford their energy bills — one of the earliest releases in the program’s history. The funding includes $36,675,395 for the State of Maine and $1,408,729 for Maine tribes. The tribal allocation includes $457,771 for the Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy Tribe, $316,098 for the Indian Township Passamaquoddy Tribe, $303,530 for the Penobscot Nation, and $165,665 each for the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and the Mi’kmaq Nation. The announcement follows Collins’ conversations this week with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, in which she urged the administration to expedite the release. “With home heating oil costs soaring, many Maine families and seniors on limited incomes are facing the prospect of extraordinarily high heating bills this winter. That is why I urged the Administration to expedite the release of this critical assistance, and why I fought so hard to protect and increase funding for LIHEAP. I am pleased that these funds are being released to help Mainers afford to heat their homes this winter without having to choose between staying warm and paying for other basic necessities,” said Senator Collins. The early release comes as Maine families face record heating costs. The Mills administration has said home heating oil hit a record average of $6.02 per gallon, and Maine — where long winters and oil-heat dependence make winter fuel a major household expense — is bracing for one of its most expensive heating seasons. LIHEAP provides direct assistance with heating and cooling costs to an estimated 6.2 million households nationwide each year; in Maine, households received $41.6 million through the program last year. The program has strong bipartisan support in Congress, but the Trump administration has repeatedly proposed eliminating it in budget requests and last year dismissed staffers working on the program. Senators Collins, Jack Reed (D-RI), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) led a bipartisan effort that secured $4.045 billion for LIHEAP in fiscal year 2026 — a $20 million increase — overriding the administration’s proposed elimination. The release is also landing in the middle of a hard-fought reelection campaign for Collins. She raised the issue during her televised Senate debate this week against Democratic challenger Troy Jackson, who has called for more LIHEAP funding and expanded eligibility, while Collins touted her talks with the administration to secure early relief and her push to expand weatherization assistance.
图片来源：w_lemay 摄，CC BY-SA 2.0（Wikimedia Commons）
