# 119-hr-8254: Water Access and Affordability Act

119-hr-8254, Water Access and Affordability Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12] (D-MI); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-08).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8254
- As of: 2026-10-08
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-8254
- Congress: 119
- Title: Water Access and Affordability Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-04-13
- Sponsor: Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12] (D-MI)
- Cosponsors: 22
- Policy area: Environmental Protection
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-08

## Summary

**Makes water service affordable for low-income households and builds funding and support to keep taps on.** This bill would create a Federal low-income water assistance program to help households pay bills, reduce debt, prevent disconnections, fund technical assistance, and improve data and transparency across water programs. - Low-income households and families would get direct bill assistance, debt relief, crisis aid, and protections against shutoffs. The program allows self-attestation, electronic enrollment, bans asset and citizenship tests, and bars late fees, deposits, and reconnection charges for assisted households. - Community groups and small systems would get funded outreach and support to enroll households and upgrade billing systems. At least 20% of annual funds must go to environmental justice and community-based technical assistance and another 20% must support data and enrollment technology. - States, Tribes, and large systems could run local programs under EPA delegation and receive grants, but face stronger public-review rules for State Revolving Funds, new reporting, and limits on uses of SRF money including a 30% cap on certain State uses and up to a 10% reserve for historically underserved areas. *Would authorize $20.0 billion per year for FY2027–FY2037, increasing federal spending over that period.*

## Cosponsors (22)

- Rep. Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4] (D-WI), 2026-10-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6] (D-MI), 2026-04-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cleaver, Emanuel [D-MO-5] (D-MO), 2026-04-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Deluzio, Christopher R. [D-PA-17] (D-PA), 2026-04-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Gomez, Jimmy [D-CA-34] (D-CA), 2026-04-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Huffman, Jared [D-CA-2] (D-CA), 2026-04-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Jacobs, Sara [D-CA-51] (D-CA), 2026-04-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Jayapal, Pramila [D-WA-7] (D-WA), 2026-04-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12] (D-PA), 2026-04-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mullin, Kevin [D-CA-15] (D-CA), 2026-04-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2026-04-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ramirez, Delia C. [D-IL-3] (D-IL), 2026-04-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13] (D-MI), 2026-04-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Velázquez, Nydia M. [D-NY-7] (D-NY), 2026-04-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. García, Jesús G. "Chuy" [D-IL-4] (D-IL), 2026-04-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carter, Troy A. [D-LA-2] (D-LA), 2026-05-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ansari, Yassamin [D-AZ-3] (D-AZ), 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Frost, Maxwell [D-FL-10] (D-FL), 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Casar, Greg [D-TX-35] (D-TX), 2026-08-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Escobar, Veronica [D-TX-16] (D-TX), 2026-08-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Randall, Emily [D-WA-6] (D-WA), 2026-09-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28] (D-CA), 2026-09-10T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- More water-bill help and protections: benefit, high. Local water programs would have to offer bill help, debt relief, crisis payments, and water-efficiency fixes like leak repairs. Programs would give bigger help to households with higher water costs and lower incomes. Programs would allow automatic enrollment using shared data, self-attestation of i…
- Who qualifies for water help: benefit, high. This bill would define who counts as a low-income household for federal water help. You would qualify if someone in your home gets SNAP, WIC, SSI, LIHEAP, certain veteran payments, or certain State cash aid. You would also qualify if your household income is at or below the greater of 200% of the f…
- Federal low-income water program setup: benefit, medium. The EPA would have to set up a Federal Low-Income Water Assistance Program within 12 months after enactment. The EPA would issue minimum program rules within 6 months, take public comment, and could delegate running local programs to States, Tribes, or eligible water systems with grants. The EPA wo…
- Stronger rules for state water funds: benefit, medium. The EPA would have to issue rules within one year to make State Revolving Fund use more transparent and targeted. States would need to post draft plans, allow at least 30 days for public comment, respond in writing, hold a public hearing, post the final plan online, and accept applications any time…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-3971: Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2086: Rights for the TSA Workforce Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-8254 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8254)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-3971: Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3971)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-20)
- [119-hr-2086: Rights for the TSA Workforce Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2086)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8254 (as of 2026-10-08).