# 119-s-5352: Desalination Reauthorization Act

119-s-5352, Desalination Reauthorization Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-10).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5352
- As of: 2026-10-10
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-5352
- Congress: 119
- Title: Desalination Reauthorization Act
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2026-08-06
- Sponsor: Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Water Resources Development
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-10

## Summary

**This bill targets an expansion of federal support for desalination by authorizing broader project eligibility and new pilot grants to validate technologies.** It aims to speed demonstrations and let the federal government share a portion of costs while requiring real-world cost analyses. - State, Tribal, and local water authorities in Reclamation States gain clearer eligibility for projects that mainly benefit them, including ocean and brackish facilities and projects sponsored or funded by public entities that contribute at least 25% of planning, design, and construction costs. - Researchers and technology developers get a new Advanced Pilot Technology Grants program for competitive demonstration projects and first-of-a-kind systems; each awarded project must include a technoeconomic analysis that estimates the levelized cost of water at full scale. - Project sponsors see federal finance rules that let the Secretary participate up to 25% of total project costs with no dollar cap, and the cost-sharing rules are amended to explicitly cover advanced pilot activities. Projects authorized under the specified demonstration authority expire 15 years after enactment.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] (R-TX), 2026-08-06T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- More federal help for desalination: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would let the federal government pay up to 25% of an eligible desalination project's total cost. The bill would remove any per-project dollar cap on that federal share. It would also expand which projects count as "eligible desalination projects" to include projects in Reclamat…
- New advanced desalination pilot grants: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would create competitive Advanced Pilot Technology Grants for real-world desalination pilot systems and first-of-a-kind plants. Grants would fund testing of technical performance and require rigorous technoeconomic analyses to estimate levelized cost of water at full scale. The…
- 15-year deadline for demonstration projects: cost, low. If enacted, the bill would make desalination demonstration and development projects under paragraph (2) of section 4(a) expire 15 years after enactment. State and local water providers, Indian Tribes, irrigation and water districts, project sponsors, and host communities would lose the authority fo…

## Related bills

- 119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-1462: Fix Our Forests Act
- 119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act
- 119-s-2838: Protecting Our Democracy Act
- 119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act

## Sources
- [119-s-5352 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5352)

## Related
- [119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1071)
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-1462: Fix Our Forests Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1462)
- [119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5022)
- [119-s-2838: Protecting Our Democracy Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2838)
- [119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2819)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5352 (as of 2026-10-10).