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Floor Speech

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Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to introduce the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program Establishment Act or LIHWAP Establishment Act. This legislation would establish the first-ever permanent, national water assistance program to help low-income households pay their water bills.

In 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress provided $1.1 billion of critical assistance through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and American Rescue Plan of 2021 to low- income households struggling to pay water and sewer bills. Since then, LIHWAP has helped 1.4 million households across the country maintain or restore access to water service. However, LIHWAP was created as an emergency program and expired at the end of fiscal year 2023.

Recognizing the importance of Federal water assistance, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment Jobs Act, which directed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, to create a Rural and Low-Income Water Assistance Pilot Program and report to Congress on the results of the pilot.

The LIHWAP Establishment Act would provide the necessary congressional authorization for a permanent LIHWAP beyond the COVID-19 emergency.

The LIHWAP Establishment Act would direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Administrator of the EPA, to establish a permanent low-income water assistance program. Just as the program did during the pandemic, LIHWAP would award grants to States, territories, and Tribes to assist low-income households in paying for drinking water or wastewater services.

The bill would also empower nonprofit organizations to assist small, rural, underserved, and Tribal water systems apply for and access LIHWAP funding, as well as direct HHS to provide technical assistance to help agencies and water systems set up data sharing agreements to streamline eligibility requirements for low-income households.

In addition, the bill would transfer authority for the program from HHS to the EPA upon completion of the EPA's Rural and Low-Income Water Assistance Pilot Program.

Safeguarding water affordability for all Americans remains critical as household water and sewer bills rise faster than electric bills and inflation. Families continue to struggle to pay their water bills on time, and low-income communities suffer from disproportionate vulnerabilities affecting their access to clean, affordable water services.

Like heat and nutrition, which already have established Federal assistance programs, water is a vital and fundamental resource for public health and economic prosperity in all communities across the country. A permanent LIHWAP ensures we can continue to provide the necessary water assistance to low-income households at risk of losing access.

I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass the LIHWAP Establishment Act as quickly as possible.

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