Funding for the program expired last year, ending critical assistance for millions of Americans

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, led 24 of his Senate colleagues in calling on the Senate Appropriations Committee to restore funding for the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) for Fiscal Year 2024.

In 2021, Congress appropriated $1.1 billion to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration on Children and Families to establish a temporary low-income water assistance program to help pay for water and wastewater bills during the COVID-19 pandemic. After helping more than 1.1 million households across the country maintain or restore water service and supporting 13,000 water and wastewater systems in low-income, Tribal, rural, and urban communities, funding for the program expired at the end of FY23, ending a lifeline for families in need across the country.

“Water and sewer bills are rising more than twice as quickly as inflation and increasing faster than energy bills, medical expenses, and household incomes,” wrote the Senators. “… The need for low-income household water assistance is just as important to public health and economic development as other basic needs such as home energy and nutrition, which have benefitted from Federal support for decades.

“As Congress works towards authorizing a permanent water assistance program to safeguard water affordability, we urge the Committee to provide continued funding for LIHWAP so that we may continue to provide critical water assistance to our most vulnerable children and families and ensure that those who need the help in paying their water bills are able to do so,” continued the Senators.

In addition to Senator Padilla, Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) also signed the letter.

More than 150 organizations — including water associations, environmental and public interest organizations, consumer advocates, and labor unions — wrote a similar letter urging Congress to provide FY24 funding for LIHWAP.

Senator Padilla has long been a staunch advocate for water affordability and ensuring access to safe water throughout California and across the country. Last year, he was named Chair of the EPW Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, where he leads federal efforts to improve water resiliency and affordability efforts and oversees implementation of the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act. He convened two hearings, including one focused on how rising water rates, aging infrastructure, and extreme weather events are increasing water affordability challenges for communities across the country and another examining drinking water and wastewater infrastructure challenges in Tribal communities. Additionally, he and Representative Mike Levin (D-Calif.-49) introduced the Water Efficiency, Conservation, and Sustainability Act of 2023, bicameral legislation that would authorize $550 million for states, municipalities, water systems, and Tribal nations to implement water-efficiency upgrades and establish programs to repair leaks, especially in areas experiencing severe drought and in low-income communities.

Full text of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Chair Murray, Vice Chair Collins, Chair Baldwin, and Ranking Member Capito:

We appreciate the Administration’s work to establish the first-ever Federal Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) and urge the Committee to provide continued funding for LIHWAP at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) in any Fiscal Year 2024 funding bill.

Congress provided $1.1 billion in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and American Rescue Plan of 2021 to provide critical assistance to low-income households with water and sewer bills. Since its creation in 2021 LIHWAP has helped more than 1.1 million households across the country maintain or restore water service. Nationwide, at least 13,000 water and wastewater systems in low-income, Tribal, rural, and urban communities have participated in the program to date. However, LIHWAP was established as a temporary program and funding expired at the end of Fiscal Year 2023, ending a lifeline for families in need across the country.

Water and sewer bills are rising more than twice as quickly as inflation and increasing faster than energy bills, medical expenses, and household incomes. As more than 150 organizations wrote in the attached letter, including water associations, environmental and public interest, consumer advocates, and labor unions, the need for low-income household water assistance is just as important to public health and economic development as other basic needs such as home energy and nutrition, which have benefitted from Federal support for decades.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act made a historic investment in the nation’s water infrastructure, including the authorization of a program directing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement a pilot program to provide federal low-income water customer assistance. As Congress works towards authorizing a permanent water assistance program to safeguard water affordability, we urge the Committee to provide continued funding for LIHWAP so that we may continue to provide critical water assistance to our most vulnerable children and families and ensure that those who need the help in paying their water bills are able to do so.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

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