‘Callous and cruel’: Maine lawmakers react to firing of all heating assistance program workers
LIHEAP, which helps Mainers with energy costs, is moving to a waitlist for new applications
AFTER SUFFERING FROM MULTIPLE GUNSHOT WOUNDS. A MASSIVE WAVE OF JOB CUTS AT U-S HEALTH AGENCIES IS IMPACTING AT LEAST 10-THOUSAND POSITIONS THIS WEEK. LONG LINES WERE SEEN OUTSIDE THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES IN WASHINGTON, D-C. H-H-S SECRETARY ROBERT F KENNEDY JUNIOR SAYS THE LAYOFFS WILL STREAMLINE THE AGENCY TO MAKE IT MORE EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE. BUT MANY INCLUDING MAINE REPRESENTATIVES CHELLIE PINGREE AND JARED GOLDEN ARE CHALLENGING THAT… THEY SAY AMONG THOSE STAFF CUTS ARE áALLá OF THE WORKERS IN THE STATES LOW INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. GOLDEN – QUESTIONING IF IT’S QUOTE “EFFICIENT TO FIRE PEOPLE WHOSE JOB IS TO HELP MAINERS AFFORD HEATING OIL WHEN IT’S COLD.” ON TOP OF THE LAYOFFS — 11-BILLION IN FEDERAL HEALTH FUNDING IS ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK. AND MAINE IS SUING OVER IT. JAMIE AZULAY LIVE IN PORTLAND WITH DETAILS. THIS LAWSUIT ITSELF IS 45 PAGES LONG. AARON FREY’S SIGNATURE IS ON HERE ALONG WITH THE ATTORNEYS GENERAL OF 22 OTHER STATES. THE LAWSUIT SAYS THAT CUTTING 11 BILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF PUBLIC HEALTH GRANTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY HAS TRIGGERED CHAOS. IT ALSO SAYS — IF THE FUNDING ISN’T RESTORED — KEY PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAMS THAT ADDRESS ONGOING NEEDS — WILL HAVE TO END. MAINE IS LOSING MORE THAN 91-MILLION-DOLLARS OF FUNDING — MUCH OF WHICH WAS SUPPORTED BY COVID RELATED LEGISLATION. A-G FREY EXPLAINS H-H-S SAYS THEY ENDED THE GRANTS BECAUSE THE PANDEMIC IS OVER AND THE GRANTS ARE NO LONGER NEEDED. A LOT OF THAT MONEY WAS ALLOCATED TO MAINERS THROUGH THE TITLE 10 GRANT PROGRAM DEDICATED TO PROVIDING FAMILY PLANNING AND BASIC PREVENTATIVE CARE TO 31-THOUSAND MAINERS WHO ARE UNINSURED, UNDERINSURED OR LOW-INCOME. THE FUNDING CUTS AT THE CORE OF THIS LAWSUIT HAVE ALREADY CAUSED THE MAINE C-D-C TO LAY-OFF AT LEAST 40 EMPLOYEES. REPORTING LIVE IN PORTLAND, JAMIE AZULAY – MAINE’S TOTAL COVERAGE.
‘Callous and cruel’: Maine lawmakers react to firing of all heating assistance program workers
LIHEAP, which helps Mainers with energy costs, is moving to a waitlist for new applications
Updated: 7:19 AM EDT Apr 2, 2025
All of the federal workers who administer Maine’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program are among the 10,000 Department of Health and Human Services staffers terminated this week by the Trump administration, according to two Democratic representatives. The program known as LIHEAP helps about 51,000 Mainers with their heating and cooling costs.It’s unclear how the firing of the program’s staff will impact the administering of the roughly $387 million in remaining funds, which Rep. Chellie Pingree notes has already been allocated by Congress. “This one just galls me,” Pingree said in a video posted on her Instagram. “You actually need people who can decide how to get that money out. That probably means that they are probably just getting rid of this program.”Pingree called the layoffs “callous and cruel” and said they would effectively “force families to choose between heating their home and putting food on the table.” The layoffs are part of a dramatic reduction in staff at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said last Thursday would impact 10,000 full-time employees. The move is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to downsize government and make it more responsive and efficient. “We aren’t just reducing bureaucratic sprawl. We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic,” Kennedy said. “This Department will do more—a lot more—at a lower cost to the taxpayer.”Rep. Jared Golden took to X for his reaction and questioned Tuesday, “What efficiency is achieved by firing everyone in Maine whose job is to help Mainers afford heating oil when it’s cold?” WMTW has not been able to independently confirm the LIHEAP layoffs and the number of local staffers losing their jobs. A spokesperson for MaineHousing, which is one of several organizations that handles LIHEAP requests, said they hadn’t received any official word from the U.S. DHHS as of Tuesday night. MaineHousing stopped processing new applications for assistance on March 28, citing current funding projections, and moved them to a waitlist. The layoffs also come amid the slashing of $11 billion of federal public health funding, which prompted Maine to sue the Trump administration Tuesday and argue that the cuts are illegal and will result in “serious harm to public health.”
WASHINGTON —All of the federal workers who administer Maine’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program are among the 10,000 Department of Health and Human Services staffers terminated this week by the Trump administration, according to two Democratic representatives.
The program known as LIHEAP helps about 51,000 Mainers with their heating and cooling costs.
It’s unclear how the firing of the program’s staff will impact the administering of the roughly $387 million in remaining funds, which Rep. Chellie Pingree notes has already been allocated by Congress.
“This one just galls me,” Pingree said in a video posted on her Instagram. “You actually need people who can decide how to get that money out. That probably means that they are probably just getting rid of this program.”
Pingree called the layoffs “callous and cruel” and said they would effectively “force families to choose between heating their home and putting food on the table.”
The layoffs are part of a dramatic reduction in staff at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said last Thursday would impact 10,000 full-time employees. The move is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to downsize government and make it more responsive and efficient.
“We aren’t just reducing bureaucratic sprawl. We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic,” Kennedy said. “This Department will do more—a lot more—at a lower cost to the taxpayer.”
Rep. Jared Golden took to X for his reaction and questioned Tuesday, “What efficiency is achieved by firing everyone in Maine whose job is to help Mainers afford heating oil when it’s cold?”
WMTW has not been able to independently confirm the LIHEAP layoffs and the number of local staffers losing their jobs. A spokesperson for MaineHousing, which is one of several organizations that handles LIHEAP requests, said they hadn’t received any official word from the U.S. DHHS as of Tuesday night.
MaineHousing stopped processing new applications for assistance on March 28, citing current funding projections, and moved them to a waitlist.
The layoffs also come amid the slashing of $11 billion of federal public health funding, which prompted Maine to sue the Trump administration Tuesday and argue that the cuts are illegal and will result in “serious harm to public health.”
