PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The summer air is sizzling as the Fourth of July approaches, yet 86-year-old Richard Perkins already worries about how he's going to stay warm this winter.

President Donald Trump has proposed eliminating heating aid for low-income Americans, claiming it's no longer necessary and rife with fraud. People needn't worry about being left in the cold, he says, because utilities cannot cut off customers in the dead of winter.

But he is wrong on all counts.

The heating program provides a critical lifeline for people like Perkins, and officials close to the program don't see any...