[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7845 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7845
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, regionally and nationally
significant projects, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 5, 2026
Mr. Peters (for himself, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. Vargas, Ms.
Jacobs, Mr. Costa, Mr. Ruiz, and Mr. Levin) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce, 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 Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014
with respect to the total amount of Federal assistance for projects in
States experiencing severe drought, regionally and nationally
significant projects, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Drought Relief Obtained Using
Government Help Today Act of 2026'' or the ``DROUGHT Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE FOR CERTAIN WATER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.
Section 5029(b)(9) of the Water Infrastructure Finance and
Innovation Act of 2014 (33 U.S.C. 3908(b)(9)) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``(D) Exceptions for certain projects.--
``(i) In general.--Notwithstanding
subparagraph (A), the total amount of Federal
assistance for a covered project for which
assistance is provided under this subtitle
shall not exceed 90 percent of the total
project cost.
``(ii) Priority.--In carrying out this
section, the Secretary or the Administrator, as
applicable shall prioritize financing for
covered projects.
``(iii) Definitions.--In this subparagraph,
the term `covered project' means a project
described in paragraph (6) or (7) of section
5026--
``(I) that is located in--
``(aa) a State that has
been designated as D2 (severe
drought) or greater according
to the United States Drought
Monitor for a minimum of 4
weeks during the 5-year period
preceding the date on which
assistance is provided for the
project under this subtitle; or
``(bb) a county for which a
drought emergency has been
declared by the applicable
Governor at any time during
such period;
``(II) that serves--
``(aa) an area in which, on
the date on which assistance is
provided for the project under
this subtitle, the average
household income is at or below
200 percent of the poverty
threshold established by the
Bureau of the Census; or
``(bb) an area that meets
the affordability criteria
established by a State pursuant
to section 1452(d)(3) of the
Safe Drinking Water Act (42
U.S.C. 300j12(d)(3)) or section
603(i)(2) of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act (33
U.S.C. 1383(i)(2)); or
``(III) that the Secretary or the
Administrator, as applicable, has
designated to be a project of regional
or national significance because the
project demonstrably--
``(aa) increases drinking
water supply capacity or
reliability;
``(bb) enhances water reuse
or recycling;
``(cc) reduces regional
water usage;
``(dd) lowers costs to
ratepayers; or
``(ee) provides substantial
public health or environmental
benefits.''.
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