Emergency Water and Energy is a Human Right Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4362 To prohibit water and power shutoffs during the COVID–19 emergency pe- riod, provide drinking and wastewater assistance to households, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 29, 2020 Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Ms. WARREN, Ms. HARRIS, Mrs. MURRAY, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. BROWN, Mr. DURBIN, and Mr. MURPHY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Edu- cation, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To prohibit water and power shutoffs during the COVID– 19 emergency period, provide drinking and wastewater assistance to households, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Emergency Water and 4 Energy is a Human Right Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. HOME ENERGY AND WATER SERVICE CONTINUITY. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:25 Aug 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4362.IS S4362 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4362 IS (1) HOME ENERGY SERVICE.—The term ‘‘home 1 energy service’’ means a service to provide home en- 2 ergy, as such term is defined in section 2603 of the 3 Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 4 (42 U.S.C. 8622), and electric service, as that term 5 is used in the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act 6 of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) to a residential 7 customer. 8 (2) PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘public 9 water system’’ has the meaning given that term in 10 section 1401 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 11 U.S.C. 300f). 12 (b) CONTINUITY.—Any entity receiving financial as- 13 sistance pursuant to this Act shall establish or maintain 14 in effect policies to ensure that no home energy service 15 or service of a public water system or treatment works 16 to a residential customer, which is provided or regulated 17 by such entity, is or remains disconnected or interrupted 18 during the public health emergency period, as defined in 19 section 3(m) because of nonpayment, and all reconnections 20 of service of a water system or treatment works are con- 21 ducted in a manner that minimizes risk to the health of 22 individuals receiving such service. 23 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 24 shall be construed— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:25 Aug 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4362.IS S4362 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4362 IS (1) to require forgiveness of outstanding debt 1 owed to an entity or to absolve an individual of any 2 obligation to an entity for service described in sub- 3 section (b); or 4 (2) to preempt any State or local law (including 5 a regulation) governing entities that provide such 6 service to residential customers. 7 SEC. 3. LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLD DRINKING WATER AND 8 WASTEWATER SERVICES ASSISTANCE. 9 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 10 authorized to be appropriated $1,500,000,000 to the Sec- 11 retary to carry out this section. Such sum shall remain 12 available until expended. 13 (b) LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLD DRINKING WATER 14 AND WASTEWATER SERVICES ASSISTANCE.—The Sec- 15 retary shall make grants from allotments described in sub- 16 section (d) to States and Indian Tribes to assist low-in- 17 come households, particularly those with the lowest in- 18 comes, that pay a high proportion of household income 19 for household drinking water and wastewater services, by 20 providing payments to owners or operators of public water 21 systems or treatment works to reduce rates charged to 22 low-income households for such services. 23 (c) NONDUPLICATION OF EFFORT.—In carrying out 24 a program under this section, the Secretary, States, and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:25 Aug 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4362.IS S4362 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4362 IS Indian Tribes, as applicable, shall, as appropriate and to 1 the extent practicable, use existing (as of the date of im- 2 plementation) processes, procedures, policies, and systems 3 in place to provide assistance to low-income households, 4 including by using existing application and approval proc- 5 esses. 6 (d) ALLOTMENT.— 7 (1) FACTORS.—The Secretary shall allot 8 amounts appropriated to carry out this section and 9 not reserved under paragraph (2) to a State or In- 10 dian Tribe taking into account— 11 (A) the percentage of households in the 12 State, or under the jurisdiction of the Indian 13 Tribe, with household income equal to or less 14 than 150 percent of the poverty line; 15 (B) the percentage of households described 16 in subparagraph (A) in the State, or under the 17 jurisdiction of the Indian Tribe, that spend 18 more than 30 percent of monthly household in- 19 come on housing; and 20 (C) the extent to which the State or Indian 21 Tribe has been affected by the public health 22 emergency, including the rate of transmission of 23 COVID–19 in the State or area under the juris- 24 diction of the Indian Tribe, the number of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:25 Aug 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4362.IS S4362 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4362 IS COVID–19 cases in the State or area compared 1 to the national average, and economic disrup- 2 tions in the State or area resulting from the 3 public health emergency. 4 (2) RESERVED FUNDS.—The Secretary shall re- 5 serve a portion of not more than 10 percent of the 6 amounts appropriated to carry out this section and 7 use the portion to allot funds to a State or Indian 8 Tribe based on the economic disruptions to the State 9 or Indian Tribe resulting from— 10 (A) the emergency involving Federal pri- 11 mary responsibility declared by the President 12 under section 501(b) of the Robert T. Stafford 13 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 14 (42 U.S.C. 5191(b)) with respect to the 15 Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19), during 16 the period covered by such emergency declara- 17 tion; and 18 (B) any subsequent major disaster de- 19 clared by the President under section 401 of 20 such Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) during the period 21 covered by such major disaster declaration, if 22 that declaration supersedes such declaration. 23 (e) DETERMINATION OF LOW-INCOME HOUSE- 24 HOLDS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:25 Aug 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4362.IS S4362 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4362 IS (1) MINIMUM DEFINITION OF LOW-INCOME.—In 1 determining whether a household in a State or under 2 the jurisdiction of an Indian Tribe is considered low- 3 income for the purposes of this section, the State or 4 Indian Tribe— 5 (A) shall ensure that, at a minimum, all 6 households with a household income equal to or 7 less than 150 percent of the poverty line are in- 8 cluded as low-income households; 9 (B) shall ensure that, at a minimum, all 10 households with a household income equal to or 11 less than 60 percent of the median household 12 income in the State involved (or the State in 13 which the Indian tribe is primarily located) are 14 included as low-income households; 15 (C) may include households that have been 16 adversely economically affected by job loss or 17 severe income loss related to the public health 18 emergency; and 19 (D) may include other households, includ- 20 ing households in which 1 or more individuals 21 are receiving— 22 (i) assistance under the program of 23 block grants to States for temporary as- 24 sistance for needy families established 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:25 Aug 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4362.IS S4362 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4362 IS under part A of title IV of the Social Secu- 1 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 2 (ii) payments under the supplemental 3 security income program established under 4 title XVI of the Social Security Act (42 5 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); 6 (iii) benefits under the supplemental 7 nutrition assistance program under the 8 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 9 2011 et seq.); or 10 (iv) payments under section 1315, 11 1521, 1541, or 1542 of title 38, United 12 States Code, or under section 306 of the 13 Veterans’ and Survivors’ Pension Improve- 14 ment Act of 1978 (38 U.S.C. 1521 note). 15 (2) HOUSEHOLD DOCUMENTATION REQUIRE- 16 MENTS.—For determining whether a household is 17 considered low-income for the purposes of this sec- 18 tion, States and Indian Tribes shall— 19 (A) to the maximum extent practicable, 20 seek to limit the income history documentation 21 requirements; and 22 (B) accept proof of job loss or severe in- 23 come loss dated after February 29, 2020, such 24 as a layoff or furlough notice or verification of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:25 Aug 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4362.IS S4362 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4362 IS application for unemployment benefits, as suffi- 1 cient to demonstrate lack of income for an indi- 2 vidual in the household or for the household. 3 (f) APPLICATIONS.—Each State or Indian Tribe de- 4 siring to receive a grant under this section shall submit 5 an application to the Secretary, in such form as the Sec- 6 retary shall require. 7 (g) STATE AGREEMENTS.—To the maximum extent 8 practicable, a State that receives a grant under this sec- 9 tion shall enter into agreements with public water systems, 10 treatment works, municipalities, nonprofit organizations 11 associated with providing household drinking water and 12 wastewater services to rural and small communities, and 13 Indian Tribes, to assist in identifying low-income house- 14 holds and to carry out this section. 15 (h) UTILITY RESPONSIBILITIES.—An owner or oper- 16 ator of a public water system or treatment works receiving 17 a payment from a State or Indian Tribe pursuant to this 18 section for the purposes of reducing rates charged to low- 19 income households for service shall— 20 (1) conduct outreach activities designed to en- 21 sure that such households are made aware of the 22 rate reduction assistance available pursuant to this 23 section; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:25 Aug 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4362.IS S4362 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4362 IS (2) charge such households, in the normal bill- 1 ing process, not more than the difference between 2 the actual cost of the service provided and the 3 amount of the household’s share of the payment 4 made by the State or Indian Tribe pursuant to this 5 section; and 6 (3) within 45 days after providing assistance to 7 a household pursuant to this section, notify in writ- 8 ing such household of the amount of such assistance. 9 (i) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—A State or Indian 10 Tribe that receives a grant under this section may use up 11 to 8 percent of the grant amounts for administrative costs 12 of carrying out this section. 13 (j) FEDERAL AGENCY COORDINATION.—In carrying 14 out this section, the Secretary shall coordinate with the 15 Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 16 and consult with other Federal agencies with authority 17 over the provision of household drinking water and waste- 18 water services. 19 (k) AUDITS.—The Secretary shall require each State 20 and Indian Tribe receiving a grant under this section to 21 undertake periodic audits and evaluations of expenditures 22 made by such State or Indian Tribe pursuant to this sec- 23 tion. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:25 Aug 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4362.IS S4362 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4362 IS (l) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall 1 prepare reports on the results of activities carried out pur- 2 suant to this section and submit the reports to Congress— 3 (1) not later than 1 year after the date of en- 4 actment of this section; and 5 (2) upon disbursement of all funds appropriated 6 to carry out this section. 7 (m) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 (1) HOUSEHOLD DRINKING WATER AND WASTE- 9 WATER SERVICES.—The term ‘‘household drinking 10 water and wastewater services’’ has the meaning 11 given that term in section 1459A(a)(2) of the Safe 12 Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–19a(a)(2)). 13 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 14 means any Indian Tribe, band, group, or community 15 recognized by the Secretary of the Interior and exer- 16 cising governmental authority over a Federal Indian 17 reservation, as defined in section 518(h) of the Fed- 18 eral Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1377). 19 (3) MUNICIPALITY.—The term ‘‘municipality’’ 20 has the meaning given that term in section 502 of 21 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 22 1362). 23 (4) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘‘poverty line’’ 24 has the meaning given that term in section 673 of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:25 Aug 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4362.IS S4362 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4362 IS the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 1 9902). 2 (5) PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.—The term 3 ‘‘public health emergency’’ means the public health 4 emergency described in section 1135(g)(1)(B) of the 5 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–5(g)(1)(B)). 6 (6) PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY PERIOD.— 7 The term ‘‘public health emergency period’’ has the 8 meaning given that term in section 1135(g)(1)(B). 9 (7) PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘public 10 water system’’ has the meaning given that term in 11 section 1401 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 12 U.S.C. 300f). 13 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 14 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 15 (9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any of 16 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Com- 17 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the 18 United States, Guam, American Samoa, and the 19 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 20 (10) TREATMENT WORKS.—The term ‘‘treat- 21 ment works’’ has the meaning given that term in 22 section 212 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 23 Act (33 U.S.C. 1292). 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:25 Aug 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S4362.IS S4362 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS