Last week, legislation was introduced in the Senate to continue the federal Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP), marking the first national program dedicated to helping low-income households maintain their drinking water and wastewater services. AMWA played an active role in developing the bill, formally announcing its support for the proposal last month.
Sponsored by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), the LIHWAP Establishment Act (S. 3830) would formally authorize LIHWAP within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). LIHWAP was initially created as a temporary program during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the new bill would largely continue the program in its current form. Under S. 3830, HHS would continue to distribute LIHWAP funding to states and tribes based on a formula that accounts for their percentage of low-income households. Individual drinking water and wastewater systems would need to become certified as vendors in their state’s program to receive program funds to offset the water bills or arrearages of qualifying households.
“We believe this model, which leverages the social services resources and expertise of HHS while enabling water and wastewater systems to interact with states and tribes to directly access funds for qualifying customers, holds the most promise for ensuring that LIHWAP operates as efficiently as possible,” AMWA and other water sector organizations wrote to Sen. Padilla last month, when they formally endorsed the planned legislation.
S. 3830, as introduced, includes a controversial provision that would require EPA to assume operation of LIHWAP upon the conclusion of a separate Rural and Low-Income Water Assistance Pilot Program authorized at the agency as part of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. AMWA and other stakeholders have discussed concerns about this transfer with Sen. Padilla’s staff and intend to work through the legislative process to address this provision when the legislation begins to advance through Congress.
While the LIHWAP Establishment Act appears unlikely to have immediate prospects for consideration in the Senate, AMWA intends to build awareness about the legislation during congressional visits as part of this month’s Water Policy Conference in Washington, DC. The association, along with other stakeholders, is actively working to get a version of the bill introduced in the House, which would further increase its visibility on Capitol Hill.
AMWA members can follow the progress of S. 3830, and all other major drinking water legislation introduced in the House and Senate, through the association’s online Legislative Tracker tool.