HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Approximately $3.6 billion in delayed funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, was released Friday to states and tribes, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association.

The federal funding for LIHEAP, which helps millions of low-income households pay to heat and cool their homes, has been held up during the beginning of the cold-weather season because of the federal government shutdown , which ended Nov. 12.

“This release of LIHEAP funding is essential and long overdue,” Mark Wolfe, executive director of NEADA, said in a statement. “Families can finally begin receiving the support they need to keep the heat on as winter begins.”

States typically receive their allocations at the beginning of November.

The U.S. De

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