Findings

Congress finds the following: (1) Safe, accessible, and affordable drinking water is essential to the protection of public health. (2) After 50 years, the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.) has demonstrably improved drinking water quality across the nation. However, millions of Americans are unable to afford their water bills and many water utilities have been unable to fund and maintain infrastructure critical to providing high quality, reliable, and affordable drinking water. Therefore, the Federal Government needs to increase water assistance to households and communities. (3) The Federal Government provides low-income household assistance for basic necessities, including food, housing, and energy. Water is also a basic necessity and requires assistance from the Federal Government. (4) Every low-income household should be able to access water assistance. (5) Other programs that provide financial and technical assistance for safe drinking water should incorporate water affordability as a goal. (6) More effective protection of public health requires— (A) a Federal commitment to ensuring the collection and transparency of data on water safety, access, and affordability at a national level; (B) a Federal commitment to water access for all Native American Tribes; and (C) a Federal commitment to having water utilities capable of serving safe and affordable drinking water to all households, including support for and oversight of State drinking water programs in the areas of financial and technical assistance, equitable utility consolidations, workforce development and training, community engagement, and enforcement. (7) Consumers served by public water systems should be provided with easy-to-understand information on the cost of their water, opportunities to reduce their bill, and bill payment assistance programs.