H.R. 4721

119th CONGRESS 1st Session

To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to establish a grant program to assist with the purchase, installation, and maintenance of point-of-entry and point-of-use drinking water quality improvement products, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES · July 23, 2025 · Sponsor: Mr. Rouzer · Committee: Committee on Agriculture

Table of contents

• H.R. 4721
  • SEC. 1. Short title
  • SEC. 2. Findings
  • SEC. 3. Healthy drinking water affordability assistance program

SEC. 1. Short title

• This Act may be cited as the or the .

SEC. 2. Findings

• Congress finds that—
  • clean and safe drinking water is necessary to ensure public health and a vibrant economy;
  • communities that are dependent on private groundwater supplies to meet domestic drinking water needs, as well as those that continue to experience drinking water infrastructure challenges from public water supplies, including with infrastructure into and within households and living facilities, are disproportionately impacted by drinking water quality issues;
  • in many instances, those communities and their households have been adversely impacted by the presence of 1 or more naturally occurring and human-caused contaminants found in drinking water, such as lead, arsenic, nitrate, nitrite, and volatile organic compounds, as well as federally unregulated contaminants, including perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances and hexavalent chromium (chrome-6), in local groundwater or other drinking water supplies;
  • public health organizations and institutions, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have cited giardia, enterovirus, radon, rotovirus, norovirus, shigella, campylobacter, salmonella, hepatitis A, cryptosporidium, and E. coli as among the major diseases and contaminants that can be present in drinking water sources;
  • investments in projects to improve and support drinking water infrastructure are critically important to addressing water quality in the United States, but because those projects can typically take many years to complete, the current, and in some cases the ongoing, needs of communities impacted with immediate drinking water quality challenges cannot be or are not addressed in a timely manner;
  • as an interim measure (and in some cases in rural areas, for longer term or permanently), point-of-entry and point-of-use water quality improvement products are viable solutions to address drinking water contamination challenges for the people of the United States; and
  • grants provided under this Act are intended to provide financial assistance for eligible grant recipients (as defined in section 306F(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (as added by section 3)) that voluntarily seek to improve the quality of the drinking water of eligible end users (as defined in that section), and not to demonstrate that an eligible end user is in compliance with a Federal, State, or local primary drinking water standard or regulation.

SEC. 3. Healthy drinking water affordability assistance program

• Subtitle A of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act is amended by inserting after section 306E () the following: 7 U.S.C. 1926e
  • (a) Definitions
    • In this section:
      • The term approved installation means the installation of an eligible drinking water quality improvement product or a certified filter component by a qualified third-party installer that—
      • The term approved maintenance means required maintenance—
      • The term certified filter component means a replaceable or replacement filter component—
      • The term eligible drinking water quality improvement product means a point-of-use or point-of-entry system—
      • The term eligible end user means a person or entity located in a rural area (as defined in section 343(a)(13)(B)) that is—
      • The term eligible grant recipient means—
      • The term health contaminant means—
      • The term improve drinking water quality means to improve the quality of the water supplied between its source and human consumption by reducing or removing 1 or more health contaminants.
      • The term qualified third-party installer means a person who—
      • The term qualified water quality test means a baseline analysis of the bacterial and chemical characteristics of concern from a drinking water sample collected at the point of consumption and tested by a laboratory certified to conduct water quality testing—
      • The term third-party certifier means an independent certification body accredited to ISO Standard 17065, , by an entity domiciled in the United States that is a signatory to the International Accreditation Forum Multilateral Recognition Arrangement, such as the Water Quality Association, NSF International, the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, and the International Code Council Evaluation Service. The term means an independent certification body accredited to ISO Standard 17065, , by an entity domiciled in the United States that is a signatory to the International Accreditation Forum Multilateral Recognition Arrangement, such as the Water Quality Association, NSF International, the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, and the International Code Council Evaluation Service. Conformity assessment—Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services
  • (b) Establishment of program
    • Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations to establish, and shall carry out, a clean drinking water program, to be known as the or the , to provide grants to eligible grant recipients to improve drinking water quality of eligible end users. Healthy Drinking Water Affordability Assistance Program