II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4134 

To amend the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014 

with respect to the total amount of Federal assistance for projects 

in States experiencing severe drought and projects in historically disadvantaged communities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 16, 2024 

Mr. PADILLA introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To amend the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation 

Act of 2014 with respect to the total amount of Federal 

assistance for projects in States experiencing severe 

drought and projects in historically disadvantaged communities, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Drought Relief Ob5 tained Using Government Help Today Act of 2024’’ or 

6 the ‘‘DROUGHT Act of 2024’’. 


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•S 4134 IS

1 SEC. 2. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE FOR CERTAIN WATER INFRA2 STRUCTURE PROJECTS. 

3 Section 5029(b)(9) of the Water Infrastructure Fi4 nance and Innovation Act of 2014 (33 U.S.C. 3908(b)(9)) 

5 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(D) EXCEPTIONS FOR CERTAIN

7 PROJECTS.— 

8 ‘‘(i) PROJECTS IN STATES EXPERI9 ENCING SEVERE DROUGHT.—Notwith10 standing subparagraph (A), the Adminis11 trator may finance up to 90 percent of the 

12 costs of a project described in paragraph 

13 (6) or (7) of section 5026 located in— 

14 ‘‘(I) a State that has been des15 ignated as D2 (severe drought) or 

16 greater according to the United States 

17 Drought Monitor for a minimum of 4 

18 weeks during any of the 3 years pre19 ceding the date on which assistance is 

20 provided for the project under this 

21 subtitle; or 

22 ‘‘(II) a county for which a 

23 drought emergency has been declared 

24 by the applicable Governor at any 

25 time during the 3-year period pre26 ceding that date. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) PROJECTS IN HISTORICALLY DIS2 ADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES.—Notwith3 standing subparagraph (A), the Adminis4 trator may finance up to 90 percent of the 

5 costs of a project described in paragraph 

6 (6) or (7) of section 5026 that serves a 

7 community that— 

8 ‘‘(I) is designated as disadvan9 taged, underserved, or financially dis10 tressed by— 

11 ‘‘(aa) the Climate and Eco12 nomic Justice Screening Tool of 

13 the Council on Environmental 

14 Quality; or 

15 ‘‘(bb) the Administrator 

16 pursuant to a water infrastruc17 ture program of the Environ18 mental Protection Agency, in19 cluding water infrastructure 

20 grant programs, clean water and 

21 drinking water grant programs, 

22 and other grant programs under 

23 the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 

24 U.S.C. 300f et seq.) and the FedVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:27 Apr 26, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4134.IS S4134

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•S 4134 IS

1 eral Water Protection Control 

2 Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); or 

3 ‘‘(II) meets the affordability cri4 teria established by a State pursuant 

5 to section 1452(d)(3) of the Safe 

6 Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j– 

7 12(d)(3)) or section 603(i)(2) of the 

8 Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

9 (33 U.S.C. 1383(i)(2)). 

10 ‘‘(iii) PRIORITY.—In carrying out this 

11 subparagraph, the Administrator shall 

12 prioritize financing for projects that— 

13 ‘‘(I) are located in a State that is 

14 experiencing severe drought, as de15 scribed in subclause (I) of clause (i), 

16 or a county for which a drought emer17 gency has been declared, as described 

18 in subclause (II) of that clause; and 

19 ‘‘(II) serve a community that is 

20 designated as disadvantaged, under21 served, or financially distressed, or 

22 meets affordability criteria established 

23 by a State, as described in clause 

24 (ii).’’. 

Æ 


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