I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4377 
To provide access to reliable, clean, and drinkable water on Tribal lands, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 14, 2025 
Mr. NEGUSE (for himself, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. TOKUDA, Ms. NOR-
TON, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, and Ms. STANSBURY) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, 
and Agriculture, 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 provide access to reliable, clean, and drinkable water 
on Tribal lands, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tribal Access to Clean 
Water Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
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(1) access to reliable, clean, and drinkable 
water is an essential human need and critical to the 
public health, well-being, educational attainment, 
and economic development of all communities in the 
United States; 
(2) many countries, along with the United Na-
tions, have recognized the urgency of the need to ac-
cess reliable, clean, and drinkable water by passing 
laws or resolutions relating to the human right to 
water and sanitation, including— 
(A) recognizing these water and sanitation 
needs exist among indigenous peoples; and 
(B) establishing aggressive targets for 
achieving universal access to those basic serv-
ices; 
(3) in the United States, access to reliable, 
clean, and drinkable water has long been a signifi-
cant problem in many communities on Tribal lands, 
such that nearly half of all households on Tribal 
lands do not have access to reliable water sources, 
clean drinking water, or basic sanitation, and are 
significantly more likely than other households in the 
United States to lack indoor plumbing; 
(4) the first of the 5 pillars announced on Feb-
ruary 4, 2025, by the Administrator of the Environ-
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mental Protection Agency Lee Zeldin that will guide 
the work of the Environmental Protection Agency 
under the Powering the Great American Comeback 
Initiative is the principle that ‘‘every American 
should have access to clean air, land, and water’’; 
(5) the trust responsibility of the Federal Gov-
ernment to Indian Tribes and the Native Hawaiian 
Community requires the Federal Government to en-
sure the survival and welfare of Indian Tribes and 
the Native Hawaiian Community, and the failure to 
provide basic water service cannot be reconciled with 
that trust responsibility; 
(6) the public health of Indian Tribes and the 
Native Hawaiian Community lags behind other com-
munities in the United States at least in part as a 
result of lack of public health infrastructure, includ-
ing access to running water; 
(7) through the bipartisan Infrastructure In-
vestment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117–58; 135 
Stat. 429), Congress provided funding for the Indian 
Health Service and the Environmental Protection 
Agency to support the construction and repair of 
Tribal clean water infrastructure, but— 
(A) inadequate resources are available to 
Indian Tribes to assist with accessing those 
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construction and repair funding programs and 
to support the operation and maintenance of 
water infrastructure; and 
(B) much of that funding is unavailable to 
the Native Hawaiian Community; 
(8) filling the gaps in funding described in 
paragraph (7) is necessary for efficient implementa-
tion of the historic investment in clean water infra-
structure for Indian Tribes and the Native Hawaiian 
Community; 
(9) technical assistance to Indian Tribes and 
Native Hawaiian organizations is necessary to en-
sure that Indian Tribes and the Native Hawaiian 
Community are able— 
(A) to access and take advantage of the 
new funding described in paragraph (7); 
(B) to develop the managerial, financial, 
and regulatory framework necessary for a fully 
functional and self-sustaining utility; and 
(C) to engage appropriate outside consult-
ants to assist as needed; 
(10) advances in water technology, including 
treatment, sensors, and innovative pipeline mate-
rials, can assist in— 
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(A) accelerating efforts to provide uni-
versal access to reliable, clean, and drinkable 
water on Tribal lands; and 
(B) enhancing resilience in the face of ex-
treme weather events; 
(11) past epidemics of communicable diseases 
and the threat of future such occurrences are stark 
reminders that access to reliable, clean, and drink-
able water to support basic health is a matter of life 
or death for all individuals in the United States; 
(12) it is in the interest of the United States, 
and it is the policy of the United States, that all 
Tribal lands be provided with safe and adequate 
water supply systems as soon as practicable; and 
(13) both appropriate funding at the level of 
unmet need and a ‘‘whole of government’’ approach 
among all Federal agencies are essential to provide 
a meaningful solution to the lack of access to clean 
water on Tribal lands. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 
has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 
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