A Republican bill with 20 Democratic cosponsors · See all 24 cosponsors
Last activity — Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Healthy Drinking Water Affordability Act, also known as the Healthy H2O Act, seeks to amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act. It establishes a grant program to assist with the purchase, installation, and maintenance of water quality improvement products like point-of-entry or point-of-use systems. This program targets eligible end users in rural areas who face drinking water contamination challenges. Grants can be used for water quality tests, product purchases, and professional installations or maintenance. The Secretary of Agriculture is tasked with managing the program and providing annual reports to Congress. The bill authorizes $10,000,000 for each fiscal year from 2025 through 2029.
Yes· 3 of 7
- Scored +5
Would households on low incomes be better off under this?
The bill provides grants for water filtration to households earning below 150 percent of the median nonmetropolitan income.
- Scored +5
Would people in rural areas be better off under this?
The bill is designed specifically to assist residents in rural areas with water quality and infrastructure issues.
- Scored +5
Does this invest in rural communities?
The bill specifically targets rural areas to assist with water quality infrastructure challenges.
The opposite
- Scored -1
Does this reduce what the federal government spends?
The bill authorizes $10,000,000 in annual new spending for the water quality grant program.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Financial assistance for water safety: The bill provides grants to help pay for the purchase, installation, and maintenance of water quality improvement products, as well as water quality testing (Section 3(c)(1)).
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Targeted relief for rural communities: The program specifically identifies and aims to assist those in rural areas who depend on private groundwater or face infrastructure challenges (Section 2(2) and Section 3(a)(5)).
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Addressing specific health contaminants: The program is designed to help reduce or remove health contaminants such as lead, arsenic, nitrate, nitrite, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and hexavalent chromium (Section 2(3) and Section 3(a)(7)).
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Support for various living situations: Assistance is available to a range of people including homeowners, individual renters, owners of small multi-unit residential buildings, and licensed child-care facilities (Section 3(a)(5)).
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Prioritization of high-risk water sources: The Secretary is directed to prioritize funding for end users whose drinking water comes from private wells (Section 3(f)(2)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
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Income limitations on assistance: Grants cannot be used by households or individuals with a combined or business income that exceeds 150 percent of the median nonmetropolitan household income in their State or territory (Section 3(d)(2)).
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Requirement of documented need: To be considered an eligible end user, a person must provide a qualified water quality test or other documentation satisfactory to the Secretary demonstrating the presence of a health contaminant (Section 3(a)(5)).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would households on low incomes be better off under this? — The bill provides grants for water filtration to households earning below 150 percent of the median nonmetropolitan income. Would people in rural areas be better off under this? — The bill is designed specifically to assist residents in rural areas with water quality and infrastructure issues. Would children be better off under this? — The bill supports licensed child-care facilities in improving water safety for children. Would middle-income households be better off under this? — The bill provides assistance to households up to 150 percent of the median nonmetropolitan income.
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Does this invest in rural communities? — The bill specifically targets rural areas to assist with water quality infrastructure challenges.
- Healthcare
- Does this make health care easier to get in general? — The bill helps ensure access to safe drinking water by funding filtration systems to remove health contaminants.
- Social Issues And Justice
- Is this likely to lift people out of poverty? — The bill provides financial relief for low-income rural households to address water safety needs.
- Economy And Finance
- Does this reduce what the federal government spends? — The bill authorizes $10,000,000 in annual new spending for the water quality grant program.
- 7/27/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 6/9/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 6/8/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 1/12/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 1/2/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 12/16/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 12/1/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 10/3/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 9/26/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 9/15/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 9/8/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 9/3/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 8/29/2025
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- 8/22/2025
- 3 Cosponsors added.
- 8/19/2025
- 4 Cosponsors added.
- 8/8/2025
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- 7/23/2025
- Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- Introduced in House
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Nikki BudzinskiDemocrat · Illinois
Jim CostaDemocrat · California
Donald DavisDemocrat · North Carolina
Clay FullerRepublican · Georgia
Marie PerezDemocrat · Washington
Jahana HayesDemocrat · Connecticut
Josh HarderDemocrat · California
Jonathan JacksonDemocrat · Illinois
Raja KrishnamoorthiDemocrat · Illinois
Mike LevinDemocrat · California
Michael LawlerRepublican · New York
Doris MatsuiDemocrat · California
Kelly MorrisonDemocrat · Minnesota
Donald NorcrossDemocrat · New Jersey
Joe NeguseDemocrat · Colorado
Chellie PingreeDemocrat · Maine
Mark PocanDemocrat · Wisconsin
Adam SmithDemocrat · Washington
Haley StevensDemocrat · Michigan
Andrea SalinasDemocrat · Oregon
David ValadaoRepublican · California
Derrick Van OrdenRepublican · Wisconsin
Gabe VasquezDemocrat · New Mexico
Eugene VindmanDemocrat · Virginia