WASHINGTON – The administration is releasing $598 million to a federal program that helps millions of low-income people pay their heating bills, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said Friday.

Maine will get $4.6 million under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, bringing the total received by the state since the fiscal year started on Oct. 1 to $19.6 million, according to members of the state’s congressional delegation.

In the last fiscal year, Maine received close to $24 million in regular and $5.5 in emergency LIHEAP funding.

The funds released Friday are the second installment of payments this fiscal year under LIHEAP, which is a frequent flash point for budget battles between cold-state lawmakers, who say the program is underfunded, and Republican leaders who have sought to keep spending increases down.

LIHEAP provides block grants to states for distribution to some 4.5 million poorer households. In October, the first month of fiscal 2004, HHS, which oversees the program, released $844 million.

Thompson said $273 million is to be released immediately for first-quarter allocations and another $325 million on Jan. 1 for second-quarter allocations.

“This additional LIHEAP funding will help families in Maine who are struggling to pay increasingly high home heating bills this winter,” said U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in praising Thompson for releasing the funds. At the same time, however, she cautioned HHS to “continue to monitor closely the needs in states like Maine, where people are experiencing particularly rough weather, to ensure that additional support is available to help them make it safely through the rest of the winter.”

Republican Sen. Olympia Snow and Democratic Rep. Michael Michaud of Maine also applauded the release of the extra funds.

The Maine State Planning Office reported this week that average heating oil prices in Maine are up 4 cents over last week at $1.37 per gallon and 15 cents higher than last year at this time. The kerosene price average for this week is also up 4 cents since last week at $1.59 per gallon and up 13 cents compared to last year.

The 2004 federal budget, which has yet to be finally approved, allocates $1.8 billion for grants and another $100 million for a contingency fund, up from about $1.7 billion in the 2003 budget year.

The bipartisan Northeast-Midwest Senate Coalition says at least $3 billion is needed to keep pace with the growing needs of low-income families and rising fuel prices.

Sen. Collins and Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., co-chairs of the coalition, and 33 other senators, including Snowe, wrote Thompson earlier this week urging the release of additional funds. “Many states are receiving an increased number of LIHEAP applications this winter due to arrears from last winter’s high energy prices and slow economic recovery in parts of our country,” they wrote.

Natural gas prices have surged in recent weeks, raising concerns that residential heating costs will be significantly higher this winter than last and create a drag on the economic recovery.