The U.S. Department of Education on Friday agreed to release the remaining portion of $28 million in funding to Maine.

The Trump administration had frozen more than $6 billion in education funding nationally — a move that prompted pushback from nearly a dozen Republican senators, including U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, and more than a dozen governors, including Janet Mills. The funding was held so it could be reviewed for possible bias by the Office of Management and Budget.

Last week the administration agreed to release $1 billion of that funding, including $6.5 million that was earmarked for Maine, for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, which provides after-school and summer learning opportunities for students.

Collins announced Friday that the administration agreed to release the rest of the funding — more than $20 million — that had been approved by Congress as part of the budget deal enacted in March.

“These formula funds are essential to the operation of Maine’s public schools, supporting everything from classroom instruction to adult education,” Collins said in a written statement. “I am pleased that following outreach from me and my colleagues, the Administration has agreed to release these highly-anticipated resources.”

Districts across the state had expected to receive that funding on July 1 for a variety of programs, such as workforce development, after-school programs, adult education, and student support and academic enrichment.

Collins, the Senate’s top appropriator, helped spearhead Republican opposition to the funding freeze and personally spoke with U.S. Department of Education Commissioner Linda McMahon about the importance of releasing the funding.

“I will continue working to ensure that education funds are delivered without delay so that schools have adequate time to plan their finances for the upcoming school year, allowing students to arrive back to class this fall to properly-funded schools,” Collins said.

Mills, a Democrat, also called on the administration to release the funds in a letter last week to the U.S. DOE that was co-signed by 16 states. That letter said school districts would be forced to adjust their budgets without the funding, including postponing hiring or eliminating instructional positions, and could cause some students to lose access to summer and after-school programs, tutoring and language support.

The Trump administration has repeatedly frozen funding approved by Congress, which has led to numerous lawsuits against the administration.

Trump’s budget director, Russell Vought, has taken an aggressive approach to impounding any federal funding that he believes conflicts with Trump’s agenda.

Opponents have argued that the moves violate the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which prevents the president from unilaterally withholding funding approved by Congress. But Vought believes it is unconstitutional.

The administration’s ongoing challenge to Congress’ constitutional power of the purse has created headaches for Collins, who ascended to the leadership of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee this year.

Collins did vote to confirm both Vought and McMahon.

NIH FUNDING

Collins and 12 of her Republican colleagues wrote another joint letter this week to Vought, this time calling on the administration to release National Institute of Health funding for medical research that also was approved by Congress as part of the budget deal.

Democrats have also decried the NIH cutbacks, including Sen. Angus King, a Maine independent who caucuses with the Democrats.

Citing a “slow disbursement rate,” the Republican senators said they “share your commitment to ensuring NIH funds are used responsibly and not diverted to ideological or unaccountable programs.” But they expressed confidence that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and NIH Director Jayanta Bhattacharya would ensure the money is spent as intended.

“Suspension of these appropriated funds — whether formally withheld or functionally delayed — could threaten Americans’ ability to access better treatments and limit our nation’s leadership in biomedical science,” they said. “It also risks inadvertently severing ongoing NIH-funded research prior to actionable results.”

About $50 million in research funding for Maine that should have already been released is stuck in the administration’s bureaucracy, and $21 billion nationwide, according to Collins’ office. The funding pays for research conducted by Maine scientists at The Jackson Laboratory, MDI Biological Laboratory, MaineHealth Institute for Research, University of Maine and the University of New England, among others.

The NIH has been under attack since Trump took office in January. The agency has traditionally been the global leader in biomedical research, but could lose that status with research being cut off and with the agency facing an uncertain future.

Collins has been an outspoken critic of the Trump administration’s cuts to NIH, including a cap on indirect costs that would hobble biomedical research. The fight over funding indirect costs — which pay for overhead, scientific equipment and other costs, is currently tied up in the courts.

Staff Writer Joe Lawlor contributed to this story