I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3293 

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Federal Water Pollution 

Control Act to establish programs to assist low-income households in 

maintaining access to drinking water and wastewater services, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 18, 2021 

Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER (for herself, Mr. KATKO, Mrs. DINGELL, and Ms. 

TLAIB) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees 

on Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 

such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Federal 

Water Pollution Control Act to establish programs to 

assist low-income households in maintaining access to 

drinking water and wastewater services, 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 ‘‘Low-Income Water 

5 Customer Assistance Programs Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. LOW-INCOME DRINKING WATER ASSISTANCE PRO2 GRAM. 

3 Part E of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 

4 300j et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 1459E. LOW-INCOME DRINKING WATER ASSISTANCE 

7 PROGRAM. 

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en10 tity’ means— 

11 ‘‘(A) a community water system that is 

12 owned or operated by a municipality, other than 

13 a small community-serving water system; or 

14 ‘‘(B) a State, with respect to a small com15 munity-serving water system located in the 

16 State. 

17 ‘‘(2) HOUSEHOLD.—The term ‘household’ 

18 means any individual or group of individuals who 

19 are living together as 1 economic unit. 

20 ‘‘(3) LOCAL DRINKING WATER ACCESS PRO21 GRAM.—The term ‘local drinking water access pro22 gram’ means a program developed or implemented 

23 by an eligible entity using a grant awarded under 

24 this section. 

25 ‘‘(4) LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLD.—The term 

26 ‘low-income household’ means a household— 


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1 ‘‘(A) in which 1 or more individuals are re2 ceiving— 

3 ‘‘(i) assistance under a State program 

4 funded under part A of title IV of the So5 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 

6 ‘‘(ii) supplemental security income 

7 payments under title XVI of the Social Se8 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); 

9 ‘‘(iii) supplemental nutrition assist10 ance program benefits under the Food and 

11 Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et 

12 seq.); or 

13 ‘‘(iv) payments under— 

14 ‘‘(I) section 1315, 1521, 1541, or 

15 1542 of title 38, United States Code; 

16 or 

17 ‘‘(II) section 306 of the Veterans’ 

18 and Survivors’ Pension Improvement 

19 Act of 1978 (38 U.S.C. 1521 note; 

20 Public Law 95–588); or 

21 ‘‘(B) that has an income that— 

22 ‘‘(i) as determined by the State in 

23 which the household is located, does not 

24 exceed the greater of— 


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1 ‘‘(I) an amount equal to 150 per2 cent of the poverty level; and 

3 ‘‘(II) an amount equal to 60 per4 cent of the State median income for 

5 that State; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) does not exceed an amount, de7 termined by an eligible entity receiving a 

8 grant under this section, that— 

9 ‘‘(I) is lower that the amount de10 scribed in clause (i); and 

11 ‘‘(II) is greater than or equal to 

12 110 percent of the poverty level. 

13 ‘‘(5) POVERTY LEVEL.—The term ‘poverty 

14 level’ means, with respect to a household in a State, 

15 the income described in the poverty guidelines issued 

16 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

17 pursuant to section 673 of the Community Services 

18 Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902), as applicable to 

19 the household. 

20 ‘‘(6) SMALL COMMUNITY-SERVING WATER SYS21 TEM.—The term ‘small community-serving water 

22 system’ means a community water system that pro23 vides drinking water services to a municipality with 

24 a population of fewer than 10,000 residents, at least 


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1 20 percent of whom are at or below the poverty 

2 level. 

3 ‘‘(7) STATE MEDIAN INCOME.—The term ‘State 

4 median income’ has the meaning given that term in 

5 section 2603 of the Low-Income Home Energy As6 sistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8622). 

7 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es9 tablish a Federal low-income drinking water assist10 ance program to award grants to eligible entities to 

11 develop and implement local drinking water access 

12 programs to assist low-income households in main13 taining access to affordable drinking water. 

14 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR SMALL COMMUNITY15 SERVING WATER SYSTEMS.—In order for a State to 

16 be eligible to receive a grant under this section for 

17 a small community-serving water system, the State 

18 and the small community-serving water system shall 

19 enter into a memorandum of understanding, under 

20 which the State shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) submit to the Administrator an appli22 cation under paragraph (6) for the small com23 munity-serving water system; and 

24 ‘‘(B) on receipt of a grant under this sec25 tion, develop and implement a local drinking 


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1 water access program for the small community2 serving water system. 

3 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.—A grant awarded under 

4 this subsection— 

5 ‘‘(A) shall not be used to replace funds for 

6 any existing similar local program to assist low7 income households in maintaining access to af8 fordable drinking water; but 

9 ‘‘(B) may be used to supplement or en10 hance such a local program. 

11 ‘‘(4) TERM.—The term of a grant awarded 

12 under this subsection shall be one year. 

13 ‘‘(5) MINIMUM LOCAL PROGRAM REQUIRE14 MENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 

16 months after the date of enactment of this sec17 tion, the Administrator shall develop, in con18 sultation with relevant stakeholders, the min19 imum requirements for a local drinking water 

20 access program. 

21 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The local drinking 

22 water access program requirements developed 

23 under subparagraph (A) may include— 

24 ‘‘(i) direct financial assistance; 

25 ‘‘(ii) a lifeline rate; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) bill discounting; 

2 ‘‘(iv) special hardship provisions; 

3 ‘‘(v) a percentage-of-income payment 

4 plan; 

5 ‘‘(vi) water efficiency assistance, in6 cluding subsidizing the cost of the installa7 tion of water efficient fixtures or leak re8 pair work that is carried out or contracted 

9 by a homeowner; or 

10 ‘‘(vii) any other form of assistance 

11 identified by the Administrator. 

12 ‘‘(6) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant under 

13 this subsection— 

14 ‘‘(A) an eligible entity shall submit to the 

15 Administrator an application that demonstrates 

16 that— 

17 ‘‘(i) the proposed local drinking water 

18 access program meets the requirements de19 veloped under paragraph (5); and 

20 ‘‘(ii) the proposed local drinking water 

21 access program will treat households that 

22 live in owner-occupied homes and house23 holds that live in rental housing equitably; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(B) in the case of an eligible entity de2 scribed in subsection (a)(1)(A), the eligible enti3 ty shall submit to the Administrator an applica4 tion that demonstrates that— 

5 ‘‘(i) the eligible entity has— 

6 ‘‘(I) a long-term financial plan 

7 based on an analysis of the rates the 

8 applicable community water system 

9 charges for drinking water services; 

10 ‘‘(II) an asset management plan; 

11 ‘‘(III) a capital improvement plan 

12 with a period of not less than 20 

13 years; 

14 ‘‘(IV) a fiscal management plan; 

15 or 

16 ‘‘(V) another plan similar to the 

17 plans described in clauses (i) through 

18 (iv); 

19 ‘‘(ii) a grant awarded under this sub20 section would support the efforts of the eli21 gible entity to generate the necessary funds 

22 to achieve or maintain compliance with this 

23 Act while mitigating the cost to low-income 

24 households; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the eligible entity has the capac2 ity to create and implement an effective 

3 community outreach plan to inform low-in4 come households of the local drinking 

5 water access program and assist with en6 rollment. 

7 ‘‘(7) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

8 subsection, the Administrator shall give priority to 

9 applications for local drinking water access pro10 grams with respect to which— 

11 ‘‘(A) the owner or operator of the applica12 ble community water system— 

13 ‘‘(i) owns or operates a— 

14 ‘‘(I) treatment works (as defined 

15 in section 212 of the Federal Water 

16 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

17 1292)) for municipal waste; or 

18 ‘‘(II) a municipal separate storm 

19 sewer system (as such term is used in 

20 the Federal Water Pollution Control 

21 Act); and 

22 ‘‘(ii) is subject to a consent decree re23 lating to compliance with the Federal 

24 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 


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1 1251 et seq.) with respect to a treatment 

2 works or system described in clause (i); 

3 ‘‘(B) the residential customers of the appli4 cable community water system have experienced 

5 rate or fee increases for drinking water services 

6 or wastewater services (including stormwater 

7 services) of 30 percent or more during the 3- 

8 year period ending on the date of enactment of 

9 this section; or 

10 ‘‘(C) the eligible entity will provide match11 ing funds in an amount equal to or greater 

12 than the amount of the grant. 

13 ‘‘(8) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of re15 ceiving a grant under this subsection, an eligi16 ble entity shall submit to the Administrator, in 

17 a manner determined by the Administrator, in18 formation regarding the applicable local drink19 ing water access program, including— 

20 ‘‘(i) key features, including rate struc21 tures, rebates, discounts, and related ini22 tiatives that assist low-income households, 

23 including— 


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1 ‘‘(I) billing methods that average 

2 rates over the course of a year, known 

3 as ‘budget billing’; 

4 ‘‘(II) bill timing; and 

5 ‘‘(III) pretermination protections; 

6 ‘‘(ii) sources of funding; 

7 ‘‘(iii) eligibility criteria; 

8 ‘‘(iv) participation rates by house9 holds; 

10 ‘‘(v) the average amount of assistance 

11 provided to participating households; 

12 ‘‘(vi) program costs; 

13 ‘‘(vii) the demonstrable impacts of the 

14 program on arrearage and service dis15 connection for households, based on data 

16 from before and after the implementation 

17 of the program, to the maximum extent 

18 practicable; and 

19 ‘‘(viii) other relevant information re20 quired by the Administrator. 

21 ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION.—The Administrator 

22 shall publish a report that compiles and sum23 marizes the information submitted under sub24 paragraph (A). 


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1 ‘‘(9) ASSISTANCE EXEMPT FROM TAXATION.— 

2 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, assist3 ance provided to a low-income household under a 

4 local drinking water access program shall not be in5 cludible in the gross income of the recipient of such 

6 assistance for purposes of the Internal Revenue 

7 Code of 1986. 

8 ‘‘(c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator 

9 shall provide technical assistance to each eligible entity 

10 that receives a grant under this section to ensure— 

11 ‘‘(1) full implementation of the applicable local 

12 drinking water access program; and 

13 ‘‘(2) maximum enrollment of low-income house14 holds in the applicable local drinking water access 

15 program, including through— 

16 ‘‘(A) community outreach campaigns; or 

17 ‘‘(B) coordination with local health depart18 ments to determine the eligibility of households 

19 for assistance. 

20 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

21 on which grant funds are first disbursed to an eligible enti22 ty under this section, and annually thereafter, the Admin23 istrator shall submit to Congress a report on the results 

24 of the Federal program established under this section.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. LOW-INCOME WASTEWATER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

2 Title I of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

3 (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 124. LOW-INCOME WASTEWATER ASSISTANCE PRO6 GRAM. 

7 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) COVERED FACILITY.—The term ‘covered 

9 facility’ means— 

10 ‘‘(A) a treatment works for municipal 

11 waste; or 

12 ‘‘(B) a municipal separate storm sewer 

13 system. 

14 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en15 tity’ means— 

16 ‘‘(A) a municipality that owns or operates 

17 a covered facility, other than a small commu18 nity-serving wastewater facility; 

19 ‘‘(B) 2 or more municipalities described in 

20 subparagraph (A) that have entered into a part21 nership agreement or a cooperative agreement; 

22 or 

23 ‘‘(C) a State, with respect to a small com24 munity-serving wastewater facility located in 

25 the State. 


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1 ‘‘(3) HOUSEHOLD.—The term ‘household’ 

2 means any individual or group of individuals who 

3 are living together as 1 economic unit. 

4 ‘‘(4) LOCAL WASTEWATER SERVICES ACCESS

5 PROGRAM.—The term ‘local wastewater services ac6 cess program’ means a program developed or imple7 mented by an eligible entity using a grant awarded 

8 under this section. 

9 ‘‘(5) LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLD.—The term 

10 ‘low-income household’ means a household— 

11 ‘‘(A) in which 1 or more individuals are re12 ceiving— 

13 ‘‘(i) assistance under a State program 

14 funded under part A of title IV of the So15 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 

16 ‘‘(ii) supplemental security income 

17 payments under title XVI of the Social Se18 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); 

19 ‘‘(iii) supplemental nutrition assist20 ance program benefits under the Food and 

21 Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et 

22 seq.); or 

23 ‘‘(iv) payments under— 


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1 ‘‘(I) section 1315, 1521, 1541, or 

2 1542 of title 38, United States Code; 

3 or 

4 ‘‘(II) section 306 of the Veterans’ 

5 and Survivors’ Pension Improvement 

6 Act of 1978 (38 U.S.C. 1521 note; 

7 Public Law 95–588); or 

8 ‘‘(B) that has an income that— 

9 ‘‘(i) as determined by the State in 

10 which the household is located, does not 

11 exceed the greater of— 

12 ‘‘(I) an amount equal to 150 per13 cent of the poverty level; and 

14 ‘‘(II) an amount equal to 60 per15 cent of the State median income for 

16 that State; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) does not exceed an amount, de18 termined by an eligible entity receiving a 

19 grant under this section, that— 

20 ‘‘(I) is lower that the amount de21 scribed in clause (i); and 

22 ‘‘(II) is greater than or equal to 

23 110 percent of the poverty level. 

24 ‘‘(6) POVERTY LEVEL.—The term ‘poverty 

25 level’ means, with respect to a household in a State, 


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1 the income described in the poverty guidelines issued 

2 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

3 pursuant to section 673 of the Community Services 

4 Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902), as applicable to 

5 the household. 

6 ‘‘(7) SMALL COMMUNITY-SERVING WASTE7 WATER FACILITY.—The term ‘small community-serv8 ing wastewater facility’ means a covered facility that 

9 provides services to municipality with a population 

10 of fewer than 10,000 residents, at least 20 percent 

11 of whom are at or below the poverty level. 

12 ‘‘(8) STATE MEDIAN INCOME.—The term ‘State 

13 median income’ has the meaning given that term in 

14 section 2603 of the Low-Income Home Energy As15 sistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8622). 

16 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es18 tablish a Federal low-income wastewater assistance 

19 program to award grants to eligible entities to de20 velop and implement local wastewater access pro21 grams to assist low-income households in maintain22 ing access to affordable wastewater services, includ23 ing municipal stormwater services. 

24 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR SMALL COMMUNITY25 SERVING WASTEWATER FACILITIES.—In order for a 


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1 State to be eligible to receive a grant under this sec2 tion for a small community-serving wastewater facil3 ity, the State and the small community-serving 

4 wastewater facility shall enter into a memorandum 

5 of understanding, under which the State shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) submit to the Administrator an appli7 cation under paragraph (6) for the small com8 munity-serving wastewater facility; and 

9 ‘‘(B) on receipt of a grant under this sec10 tion, develop and implement a local wastewater 

11 access program for the small community-serv12 ing wastewater facility. 

13 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.—A grant awarded under 

14 this subsection— 

15 ‘‘(A) shall not be used to replace funds for 

16 any existing similar local program to assist low17 income households in maintaining access to af18 fordable wastewater services, including munic19 ipal stormwater services; but 

20 ‘‘(B) may be used to supplement or en21 hance such a local program. 

22 ‘‘(4) TERM.—The term of a grant awarded 

23 under this subsection shall be one year. 

24 ‘‘(5) MINIMUM LOCAL PROGRAM REQUIRE25 MENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 

2 months after the date of enactment of this sec3 tion, the Administrator shall develop, in con4 sultation with relevant stakeholders, the min5 imum requirements for a local wastewater ac6 cess program. 

7 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The local wastewater 

8 access program requirements developed under 

9 subparagraph (A) may include— 

10 ‘‘(i) direct financial assistance; 

11 ‘‘(ii) a lifeline rate; 

12 ‘‘(iii) bill discounting; 

13 ‘‘(iv) special hardship provisions; 

14 ‘‘(v) a percentage-of-income payment 

15 plan; 

16 ‘‘(vi) water efficiency assistance, in17 cluding subsidizing the cost of the installa18 tion of water efficient fixtures or leak re19 pair work that is carried out or contracted 

20 by a homeowner; or 

21 ‘‘(vii) any other form of assistance 

22 identified by the Administrator. 

23 ‘‘(6) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant under 

24 this subsection— 


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1 ‘‘(A) an eligible entity shall submit to the 

2 Administrator an application that demonstrates 

3 that— 

4 ‘‘(i) the proposed local wastewater ac5 cess program meets the requirements de6 veloped under paragraph (5); and 

7 ‘‘(ii) the proposed local wastewater ac8 cess program will treat households that live 

9 in owner-occupied homes and households 

10 that live in rental housing equitably; and 

11 ‘‘(B) in the case of an eligible entity de12 scribed in subsection (a)(1)(A), the eligible enti13 ty shall submit to the Administrator an applica14 tion that demonstrates that— 

15 ‘‘(i) the eligible entity has— 

16 ‘‘(I) a long-term financial plan 

17 based on an analysis of the rates the 

18 applicable covered facility charges for 

19 services; 

20 ‘‘(II) an asset management plan; 

21 ‘‘(III) a capital improvement plan 

22 with a period of not less than 20 

23 years; 

24 ‘‘(IV) a fiscal management plan; 

25 or 


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1 ‘‘(V) another plan similar to the 

2 plans described in clauses (i) through 

3 (iv); 

4 ‘‘(ii) a grant awarded under this sub5 section would support the efforts of the eli6 gible entity to generate the necessary funds 

7 to achieve or maintain compliance with this 

8 Act while mitigating the cost to low-income 

9 households; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) the eligible entity has the capac11 ity to create and implement an effective 

12 community outreach plan to inform low-in13 come households of the local wastewater 

14 access program and assist with enrollment. 

15 ‘‘(7) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

16 subsection, the Administrator shall give priority to 

17 applications for local wastewater access programs 

18 with respect to which— 

19 ‘‘(A) the applicable covered facility is sub20 ject to a consent decree relating to compliance 

21 with this Act; 

22 ‘‘(B) the residential customers of the appli23 cable covered facility have experienced rate or 

24 fee increases for drinking water services or 

25 wastewater services (including stormwater servVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Jun 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3293.IH H3293

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1 ices) of 30 percent or more during the 3-year 

2 period ending on the date of enactment of this 

3 section; 

4 ‘‘(C) the eligible entity develops an equiva5 lent program, as determined by the Adminis6 trator, that is administered separately by the el7 igible entity; 

8 ‘‘(D) matching funds will be provided in an 

9 amount equal to or greater than the amount of 

10 the grant; or 

11 ‘‘(E) the eligible entity is described in sub12 section (a)(2)(B). 

13 ‘‘(8) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of re15 ceiving a grant under this subsection, an eligi16 ble entity shall submit to the Administrator, in 

17 a manner determined by the Administrator, in18 formation regarding the applicable local waste19 water access program, including— 

20 ‘‘(i) key features, including rate struc21 tures, rebates, discounts, and related ini22 tiatives that assist low-income households, 

23 including— 


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1 ‘‘(I) billing methods that average 

2 rates over the course of a year, known 

3 as ‘budget billing’; 

4 ‘‘(II) bill timing; and 

5 ‘‘(III) pretermination protections; 

6 ‘‘(ii) sources of funding; 

7 ‘‘(iii) eligibility criteria; 

8 ‘‘(iv) participation rates by house9 holds; 

10 ‘‘(v) the average amount of assistance 

11 provided to households; 

12 ‘‘(vi) program costs; 

13 ‘‘(vii) the demonstrable impacts of the 

14 program on arrearage and service dis15 connection for households, based on data 

16 from before and after the implementation 

17 of the program, to the maximum extent 

18 practicable; and 

19 ‘‘(viii) other relevant information re20 quired by the Administrator. 

21 ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION.—The Administrator 

22 shall publish a report that compiles and sum23 marizes the information submitted under sub24 paragraph (A). 


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1 ‘‘(9) ASSISTANCE EXEMPT FROM TAXATION.— 

2 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, assist3 ance provided to a low-income household under a 

4 local wastewater access program shall not be includ5 ible in the gross income of the recipient of such as6 sistance for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code 

7 of 1986. 

8 ‘‘(c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator 

9 shall provide technical assistance to each eligible entity 

10 that receives a grant under this section to ensure— 

11 ‘‘(1) full implementation of the applicable local 

12 wastewater access program; and 

13 ‘‘(2) maximum enrollment of low-income house14 holds in the applicable local wastewater access pro15 gram, including through— 

16 ‘‘(A) community outreach campaigns; or 

17 ‘‘(B) coordination with local health depart18 ments to determine the eligibility of households 

19 for assistance. 

20 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

21 on which grant funds are first disbursed to an eligible enti22 ty under this section, and annually thereafter, the Admin23 istrator shall submit to Congress a report on the results 

24 of the Federal program established under this section.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR NATIONWIDE RURAL AND 

2 URBAN LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY WATER AS3 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis6 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ7 mental Protection Agency. 

8 (2) HOUSEHOLD.—The term ‘‘household’’ 

9 means any individual or group of individuals who 

10 are living together as 1 economic unit. 

11 (3) LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLD.—The term 

12 ‘‘low-income household’’ means a household— 

13 (A) in which 1 or more individuals are re14 ceiving— 

15 (i) assistance under a State program 

16 funded under part A of title IV of the So17 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 

18 (ii) supplemental security income pay19 ments under title XVI of the Social Secu20 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); 

21 (iii) supplemental nutrition assistance 

22 program benefits under the Food and Nu23 trition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et 

24 seq.); or 

25 (iv) payments under— 


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1 (I) section 1315, 1521, 1541, or 

2 1542 of title 38, United States Code; 

3 or 

4 (II) section 306 of the Veterans’ 

5 and Survivors’ Pension Improvement 

6 Act of 1978 (38 U.S.C. 1521 note; 

7 Public Law 95–588); or 

8 (B) that has an income that, as deter9 mined by the State in which the household is lo10 cated, does not exceed the greater of— 

11 (i) an amount equal to 150 percent of 

12 the poverty level; and 

13 (ii) an amount equal to 60 percent of 

14 the State median income for that State. 

15 (4) POVERTY LEVEL.—The term ‘‘poverty 

16 level’’ means, with respect to a household in a State, 

17 the income described in the poverty guidelines issued 

18 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

19 pursuant to section 673 of the Community Services 

20 Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902), as applicable to 

21 the household. 

22 (5) STATE MEDIAN INCOME.—The term ‘‘State 

23 median income’’ has the meaning given that term in 

24 section 2603 of the Low-Income Home Energy As25 sistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8622). 


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1 (b) STUDY; REPORT.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

3 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis4 trator shall conduct, and submit to Congress a re5 port describing the results of, a study regarding the 

6 prevalence throughout the United States of low-in7 come households that do not have access to— 

8 (A) affordable and functional centralized 

9 or onsite wastewater services that protect the 

10 health of individuals in the households; 

11 (B) affordable municipal stormwater serv12 ices; or 

13 (C) affordable public drinking water serv14 ices to meet household needs. 

15 (2) INCLUSIONS.—The report under paragraph 

16 (1) shall include— 

17 (A) recommendations of the Administrator 

18 regarding the best methods to increase access 

19 to the services described in paragraph (1); 

20 (B) a description of the cost of each meth21 od described in subparagraph (A); 

22 (C) a description of all consultation with 

23 relevant stakeholders carried out in developing 

24 the report; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
27 

•HR 3293 IH

1 (D) a description of the results of the 

2 study with respect to low-income households 

3 that live in rental housing and do not receive 

4 bills for such services, but pay for the services 

5 indirectly through rent payments. 

6 (3) AGREEMENTS.—The Administrator may 

7 enter into an agreement with another Federal agen8 cy to carry out the study under paragraph (1). 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS