WASHINGTON – Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine asked the director of the Office of Management and Budget on Monday to release $151 million that remains in a fund for heating assistance for low-income families across the country.

If the Bush administration fails to release the money, then $131 million will expire on Sept. 30, they said. Rather than let the money vanish, they said, release the money to let people top off their heating oil tanks before cold weather sets in.

Some 4.5 million low-income families, including about 46,450 in Maine, rely on money from the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program to help meet their heating needs.