The Maine State Housing Authority announced Wednesday that an initial round of Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) payments will be issued despite the ongoing government shutdown, which has now stretched to a record 38 days and counting.
In order to provide this assistance despite the lack of federal funding, MaineHousing has explained it will be utilizing carryover funds from last year that were originally earmarked for the Central Heating Improvement Program (CHIP) and HEAP-related weatherization programs.
In doing so, MaineHousing will distribute a total of about $2.2 million in assistance, providing aid to about 4,000 households across the state.
Those who applied for assistance in August and September will see HEAP payments distributed over the next several weeks.
The Maine State Housing Authority notes that early applications prioritize “the most vulnerable populations,” including the elderly and households with young children, as well as those who are at risk of hypothermia.
Until the federal government reopens, MaineHousing does not have access to the funding necessary to cover the cost of paying out the remaining applications.
Of the $40 million received annually from the federal government, about $26 million is allocated directly to eligible households for fuel assistance.
The rest of the money goes toward the administration of the program and other related initiatives, such as CHIP and weatherization.
Funding also remains unavailable at this time for the Maine State Housing Authority’s Energy Crisis Intervention Program (ECIP), which is designed to provide emergency aid to Mainers facing an “imminent heating crisis.”
[RELATED: Maine’s Emergency Heating Assistance Program On Hold As Government Shutdown Continues]
“As MaineHousing—like many other agencies and individuals—continues to await the end of the federal government shutdown, it was critical that we do what we can to help alleviate the stress, anxiety, and hardship this prolonged shutdown is causing here in Maine,” said Maine State Housing Authority Director Dan Brennan.
“This will help prevent heating emergencies for our most vulnerable neighbors, family members, and friends,” Brennan added.
“Borrowing funds from one program to pay for another is certainly not ideal and is not a long-term solution,” continued Brennan.
“These programs will be repaid once the federal government reopens and Maine’s HEAP grant is released,” he said. “By taking this step now, as winter approaches, we hope that at least some of our most vulnerable households will be able to avoid a heating emergency.”
Brennan credited Maine energy vendors, many of whom he says are “small, community-based businesses,” for making this first round of aid distribution possible.
“This will get their trucks rolling,” said Brennan. “Both our vendors and Maine’s community action agencies are key partners in this effort.”
“While federal funding for this vital program remains uncertain,” he concluded, “their commitment to helping their neighbors stay warm during our cold winter months does not.”
Click Here to Read the Full Press Release
Rep. Jared Golden (D) of Maine’s Second Congressional District — who recently announced that he will not be running for reelection next year — has criticized his fellow Democrats for keeping the government shutdown, arguing that it is wrong to shutdown the government over what he refers to as a “normal policy debate.”
In doing so, he pushed back on the narrative that reopening the government is necessarily contingent upon the left and right reaching an agreement over extending an enhanced health insurance tax credit.
The expanded credit in question, first created in 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), gives many Americans access to free or discounted monthly premiums health insurance premiums through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace.
[RELATED: Golden Announces He Won’t Seek Re-Election in 2026, Drops Out of Re-Election Bid]
Without intervention from Congress, this tax credit is set to expire at the end of this year. Should this happen, only the more limited version of the tax credit originally included in the ACA will remain in effect going forward.
Despite expressing support for extending the credits, Rep. Golden explains that he does not believe this policy debate should be intertwined with the current government shutdown.
[RELATED: Jared Golden Criticizes Fellow Lawmakers for Shutting Down Government Over “Normal Policy Debate”]
This position differs greatly from that which has been espoused by his counterpart in Maine’s First Congressional District, Rep. Chellie Pingree (D).
In a statement shared in early October, Rep. Pingree framed the shutdown, fundamentally, as a fight over the extension of the enhanced ACA tax credit, placing blame squarely on Republican lawmakers.
“[Democrats’] goal is to protect everyone’s health care during this fight, to restore the cuts related to health care, and to make sure that Republicans don’t break their promises going into the future,” she said at the time.
Over the past several weeks, most Democrats have repeatedly rejected a Republican-led continuing resolution passed by the House that would allow the government to reopen. They have voted down more than 14 such efforts, which require a two-thirds majority to succeed.
King is one of only a small handful of non-GOP lawmakers to have crossed the aisle and voted in support of a plan to reopen the government.
