Between March 4 and April 22, 2026, Maine Senator Susan Collins voted five times against Senate measures to end U.S. hostilities with Iran, starting with the March 4 vote, when she said passing the resolution would send the wrong message to Iran and to our troops. Maine officials said fuel prices increased 41% since the war in Iran began, and by October heating oil averaged nearly $6 a gallon in the state where half of homes heat with it.
Collins also voted to confirm the officials who ran the war and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose department fired the entire LIHEAP program staff that runs the federal heating aid tens of thousands of Maine households rely on.
What It Cost: Maine Heating Oil Prices and Heating Aid Under the War Susan Collins Voted Against Ending
- Heating oil prices. Maine's statewide average price for heating oil was $5.97 a gallon, with kerosene at $6.89, on October 5, 2026, according to the Maine Department of Energy Resources' weekly survey. Maine Public reported in October that heating oil had topped $6 a gallon recently, which is more than 80% higher than last year.
- Dependence on oil. Maine is the most heating oil dependent state in the country, and 50% of homes in the state use fuel oil as their primary heating source, Maine Public reported.
- Household costs. Maine households that heat with oil will pay $674 more this year to fill their tanks, by the Joint Economic Committee Democrats' estimate cited by the Center for American Progress. Regular gasoline in Maine rose from $2.91 a gallon before the war to $4.40 in September 2026, up 51.3 percent.
- Heating aid. MaineHousing reported a 6% increase in people applying for low-income heating assistance this year, and it sets the benefit so that the typical benefit will be about 100 gallons of heating oil, which buys less heat as prices climb.
Susan Collins's Votes on the Iran War and the Officials Behind Maine's Heating Costs
- Collins Voted Five Times in March and April 2026 Against Ending the Iran War as Maine Fuel Prices Rose. Susan Collins voted no on Senate measures directing the removal of U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran on March 4, March 18, March 24, April 15 and April 22, 2026, and each failed. After the first vote she said in a statement, "Passing this resolution now would send the wrong message to Iran and to our troops". The Center for American Progress, citing a Joint Economic Committee analysis, said that In Maine , the average household will need to pay $674 more this year to fill its heating oil tank, and the war had killed 21 U.S. service members by October 2026.
- Collins Voted Against Limiting Military Action Against Iran After the June 2025 Strikes. On June 27, 2025, after U.S. bombers struck Iranian nuclear sites, Susan Collins voted no on taking up Senator Tim Kaine's resolution to remove U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran that Congress had not authorized. It failed 47 to 53. The United States went to war with Iran eight months later, and Maine Public reported in September 2026 that the ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Persian Gulf were causing turmoil in the fuel markets that set Maine's heating oil prices.
- Collins Voted to Confirm the Joint Chiefs Chairman and Deputy Defense Secretary Who Ran the War. Susan Collins voted to confirm Stephen Feinberg as deputy secretary of defense on March 14, 2025 and Gen. Dan Caine as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on April 11, 2025. Their department has run the war with Iran, which has cost $43.6 billion as of this month, Roll Call reported in September 2026.
- Collins Voted to Confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Whose Department Fired the Federal Heating Aid Staff. On February 13, 2025, Susan Collins voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of health and human services, and he was confirmed 52 to 48. On April 1, 2025, his department fired the entire LIHEAP program staff at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the federal workers who run the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and the state energy-aid directors report the federal staff have not been rehired. In Maine the program serves around 40,000 homes a year.
Frequently Asked Questions About Susan Collins on Maine heating oil
What is Susan Collins's record on heating oil prices and the Iran war?
Susan Collins voted five times between March 4 and April 22, 2026 against ending U.S. hostilities with Iran, beginning with the March 4 vote, as Maine heating oil climbed toward $6 a gallon. She voted to confirm the officials who ran the war and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose department fired the federal staff who run heating aid.
How did Susan Collins vote on the first Iran war powers resolutions in 2026?
Susan Collins voted no on each of the five Senate war powers votes held between March 4 and April 22, 2026, on March 4, March 18, March 24, April 15 and April 22 (March 4 roll call), and each failed. By the last of those votes, Maine officials said fuel prices had increased 41% since the war in Iran began.
What happened to federal heating aid under the officials Susan Collins confirmed?
Susan Collins voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and in April 2025 his department fired the entire LIHEAP program staff that runs the federal heating aid program. In Maine the program serves around 40,000 homes, and MaineHousing said its typical benefit of about 100 gallons might not go as far this winter with prices surging.
Last updated: 2026-10-25