To establish a low-income water assistance program, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill, the Half-Century Update for Water Access and Affordability Act, creates a new federal low-income water assistance program run by the EPA. The program provides direct financial assistance, debt relief, water crisis aid, and water efficiency upgrades to low-income households to help them maintain access to drinking water and sewer services. It also reforms the Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act state revolving loan funds to increase transparency, prioritize disadvantaged communities, and require public participation in funding decisions.
Who Benefits and How
Low-income households, defined as those receiving government assistance programs or earning below 200% of the poverty level or 80% of area median income, would receive direct help paying water bills, reducing water debt, and accessing emergency water assistance. The bill prohibits water shutoffs for enrolled households unable to pay, waives late fees and reconnection charges, and allows automatic enrollment from other assistance programs. Small water systems and disadvantaged communities would receive technical assistance and prioritized loan fund access. Native American tribes receive dedicated program eligibility.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The federal government bears the primary cost through EPA administration and grant funding for the water assistance program plus technical assistance. State and local governments must reform their revolving loan fund processes to add public comment periods, advisory groups, transparency reporting, and triennial reviews of affordability criteria. Private water utilities receiving grants cannot use the funds to increase returns to owners. Water systems serving over 100,000 people may apply to directly administer the program in their service areas.
Key Provisions
- Creates a federal low-income water assistance program with direct bill assistance, debt relief, crisis aid, and water efficiency upgrades
- Prohibits water shutoffs, late fees, and reconnection charges for enrolled low-income households
- Allows automatic enrollment from other federal assistance programs without separate applications
- No citizenship or asset test requirements for program eligibility
- Reforms state revolving loan funds to require public hearings, transparency reporting, and disadvantaged community prioritization
- Mandates Census Bureau add water access questions to the American Community Survey
- Exempts water assistance from federal income tax and public benefit calculations
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Establishes a comprehensive federal low-income water assistance program administered by the EPA to help low-income households maintain access to affordable drinking water and sanitary sewer services, while also reforming state revolving loan fund processes to increase transparency and prioritize disadvantaged communities.
Key Policy Areas
Public Health, Environmental Policy, Social Welfare, Infrastructure
Primary Purpose
Establishes a comprehensive federal low-income water assistance program administered by the EPA to help low-income households maintain access to affordable drinking water and sanitary sewer services, while also reforming state revolving loan fund processes to increase transparency and prioritize disadvantaged communities.
Policy Domains
Whole Bill
Identified Gains
- Low-income households struggling to afford water bills
- Disadvantaged communities with aging water infrastructure
- Native American tribes lacking water access
- Small and mid-size water systems needing technical assistance
Identified Costs
- Federal taxpayers funding the program
- State and local governments reforming loan fund processes
- Private water utilities restricted from using grants for owner profits
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMs. Tlaib (for herself, Ms. Barragán, Ms. Brownley, Ms. Bush, …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
EPA, States and Indian Tribes administering water assistance
State agencies administering revolving loan funds
Disadvantaged communities seeking water infrastructure funding
Low-income households (up to 200% poverty or 80% AMI)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "Census Bureau"
- → Required to add water access questions to the American Community Survey
- "State governments"
- → May implement delegated water service access programs and must reform loan fund processes
- "Environmental Protection Agency"
- → Administers the federal low-income water assistance program and reforms revolving loan funds
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology