AUGUSTA – As the federal government shutdown drags on, the director of Maine’s housing authority is asking those dependent on federal money for heating assistance not to panic.

“We just need to wait for the shutdown to resolve itself,” said MaineHousing Director Dan Brennan.

It’s been more than three weeks since a deadlocked Congress shut down the government on Oct. 1 rather than come to an agreement on the federal budget.

For Mainers who depend on federal funding through the low-income home energy assistance program, they will not get the assistance they need until the shutdown ends. 

The situation prompted US Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) to express concern in remarks earlier this month.

“This year I’m terribly worried about what’s going to happen,” Pingree told Spectrum News on Oct. 15. “The budget is a mess. The president continues to withhold funds and sometimes he just says ‘I’m going to punish the Democratic states’ so this is a big issue for New England.”

Brennan said he understands the need for LIHEAP assistance. Every year, he said, MaineHousing gets about $40 million in federal funding for LIHEAP, too much money for the state to compensate for if it doesn’t come in.

Still, Brennan said Maine has held its breath waiting on government shutdowns before, and usually the situation gets resolved before any real damage is done. 

“I don’t mean to make light of this situation. It’s very serious, but at the same time, I remain hopeful that the funding will be coming,” he said.

Even in a typical year, Brennan said, federal LIHEAP funds wouldn’t be available this early anyway. Typically, he said, the budget is set by Oct. 1, and it often takes weeks to process the funds anyway.

But if the shutdown drags on for much longer, Brennan said, it could become a problem.

“We don’t want to get into the middle of November and still be in this situation,” he said. 

Brennan acknowledged that if the shutdown does drag on that long, “it’s going to be very challenging” for those who rely on LIHEAP to keep warm.

Still, he added, providers are accepting applications, and the government still has time to resolve the shutdown, which Brennan remains confident will happen.

“There’s every expectation that once they come to a resolution that there will be funding for the program, but it still has to happen,” he said.