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LIHEAP, other Maine programs get boost |
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by B. J. Carter
Coastal Journal staff
With its vote for a $515.7 billion consolidated approprtations bill (omnibus), the House approved $2.6 billion dollars for the Low Income Heating Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a program has come under inreased strain due to high heating costs this winter.
The bill also includes $14.35 million for Maine Land Conservation and Fisheries Restoration Initiatives,
$6.49 million for Maine Agricultural Research Projects, $866,000 for the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, and $487,000 for Maine Centers for Women, Work, and Community.
U.S. Representative Tom Allen (D-Maine), a member of the House Budget Committee, announced, “With Maine shivering in a pre-winter chill, I am especially pleased that the bill provides $800 million more than the President requested and $500 million more than the Senate approved for the Low Income Heating Energy Assistance Program.”
A modified bill of $555 million subsequently passed in the Senate by a vote of 76-17. The bill will be sent back to the House for final approval, at which point the President is expected to sign it.
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