WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins have announced that two government programs located in Maine have been named semifinalists in the Innovations in American Government Awards competition. Maine semifinalists include the Maine Department of Labor’s Adaptive Equipment Loan Program and Maine Department of Human Services’ Parents as Scholars program. In September, 25 semifinalists will be selected to advance to the finalist level, where awards totaling $1.3 million will be bestowed.

The award recognized government initiatives that are both original and effective, said Collins and Snowe in a joint statement. The two projects in Maine, they said, show originality and effectiveness in addressing important problems and have proved to be valuable to the clients they serve.

From a pool of more than 1,600 applicants, the 98 semifinalists named in 1999 include 22 federal, 40 state, nine county, 22 city and town programs, two school districts, two tribal governments, and one government corporation.

Innovations in American Government, one of the most prestigious public service awards programs in the nation, was started in 1986 by the Ford Foundation and is administered by the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, in partnership with the Council for Excellence in Government.