Sponsors (2)
The bill expands federal support for household water and decentralized wastewater repairs in rural areas—providing grants, loans, and nonprofit-run programs to improve access and reduce repair risk—while increasing federal spending, requiring loans for some moderate‑income households, and risking uneven local coverage and short-term uncertainty about program details.
Low-income rural households (under 60% of nonmetro median) can receive subgrants to build or repair household wells and decentralized wastewater systems, lowering out‑of‑pocket costs and improving access to basic water and sanitation.
Moderate-income rural households (60–100% of nonmetro median) become eligible for loans to install or refurbish water and wastewater systems, increasing access to safe water and sanitation when grants are not available.
Nonprofit organizations will receive USDA grants to operate lending and subgrant programs, increasing local capacity and sources of support for household water infrastructure in rural areas.
Moderate-income rural households (60–100% of nonmetro median) are required to take loans rather than grants in many cases, which could increase household debt burdens for those families.
Taxpayers may face increased federal spending to fund the grants to nonprofits and subgrant/loan programs, raising government outlays without a specified appropriation amount in the text provided.
Relying on private nonprofit intermediaries to deliver programs could produce uneven service coverage or gaps depending on nonprofit capacity and local service-area boundaries.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows USDA to fund nonprofits that provide loans and subgrants for rural household wells and decentralized wastewater systems, with subgrants for households <60% of nonmetro median and loans for 60–100%.
Revises and clarifies a USDA rural water program so the department may grant funds to private nonprofit organizations that in turn provide loans and subgrants to individuals for building, refurbishing, and servicing individually owned household water wells and decentralized household wastewater systems in rural areas. The bill sets income tiers so that households under 60% of nonmetropolitan median household income are eligible for subgrants, while households between 60% and 100% of that median are eligible for loans. The bill also corrects a numeric typographical error in existing language and allows a subgrant for a decentralized household wastewater system to include funding to cover a performance warranty of at least five years. An amendment to additional program language is indicated but the text is redacted or missing, leaving some details unspecified.
Introduced March 12, 2026 by Cory Anthony Booker · Last progress March 12, 2026