Federal RuleAug 21
62
DOL Rewrites Disability Rules for 'Merit-Based Opportunity' Push
RuleLabor DepartmentFederal Contract Compliance Programs OfficeSignificant Wallet
HR8254119th CongressWALLET
Water Access and Affordability Act
Sponsored By: Representative Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12]
Introduced
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.
Show full summary
- 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.*
Personalized for You
How does this bill affect your finances?
Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
More water-bill help and protections
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 income, and electronic signatures and would ban asset tests, in-person-only signups, and citizenship checks. If a household gets help, the water system could not shut off service, reduce water, or charge late, reconnection, or deposit fees for that assisted bill; EPA would set penalties for violations.
Who qualifies for water help
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 federal poverty guideline or 80% of your area median income. The entity running the local program would determine income eligibility.
Federal low-income water program setup
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 would fund technical assistance to enroll households and help small and mid-size systems, with outreach to places with many disconnections, remote areas, households lacking broadband, and people with limited English.
Stronger rules for state water funds
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. The EPA would require a central online data repository and state advisory groups and would order rules to speed help and flexible repayment for disadvantaged communities. The bill would change a Clean Water Fund rule from 'may' to 'shall' for a specified use and would cap a State's use of a referenced amount at 30% for certain costs.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12]
MI • D
Cosponsors
Rep. Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6]
MI • D
Sponsored 4/13/2026
Rep. Cleaver, Emanuel [D-MO-5]
MO • D
Sponsored 4/13/2026
Rep. Deluzio, Christopher R. [D-PA-17]
PA • D
Sponsored 4/13/2026
Rep. Gomez, Jimmy [D-CA-34]
CA • D
Sponsored 4/13/2026
Rep. Huffman, Jared [D-CA-2]
CA • D
Sponsored 4/13/2026
Rep. Jacobs, Sara [D-CA-51]
CA • D
Sponsored 4/13/2026
Rep. Jayapal, Pramila [D-WA-7]
WA • D
Sponsored 4/13/2026
Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12]
PA • D
Sponsored 4/13/2026
Rep. Mullin, Kevin [D-CA-15]
CA • D
Sponsored 4/13/2026
Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
DC • D
Sponsored 4/13/2026
Rep. Ramirez, Delia C. [D-IL-3]
IL • D
Sponsored 4/13/2026
Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13]
MI • D
Sponsored 4/13/2026
Rep. Velázquez, Nydia M. [D-NY-7]
NY • D
Sponsored 4/13/2026
Rep. García, Jesús G. "Chuy" [D-IL-4]
IL • D
Sponsored 4/16/2026
Rep. Carter, Troy A. [D-LA-2]
LA • D
Sponsored 5/20/2026
Rep. Ansari, Yassamin [D-AZ-3]
AZ • D
Sponsored 7/22/2026
Rep. Frost, Maxwell [D-FL-10]
FL • D
Sponsored 7/22/2026
Rep. Casar, Greg [D-TX-35]
TX • D
Sponsored 8/3/2026
Rep. Escobar, Veronica [D-TX-16]
TX • D
Sponsored 8/3/2026
Rep. Randall, Emily [D-WA-6]
WA • D
Sponsored 9/1/2026
Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28]
CA • D
Sponsored 9/10/2026
Rep. Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4]
WI • D
Sponsored 10/6/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov