H.R. 4891: Western Water Security Act of 2020
Before you vote › Federal bills
H.R. 4891: Western Water Security Act of 2020
116th Congress · introduced 2019-10-28 · Water Resources Development · Latest: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 558.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2019-10-28 · official record
- Who proposed it: Rep. Torres Small, Xochitl [D-NM-2] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 558. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
Western Water Security Act of 2020
Plain summary
Western Water Security Act of 2020 This bill addresses water management infrastructure and improvement, groundwater management, and water conservation and environmental restoration in certain western states. Specifically, the bill increases the authorization of appropriations to fund research agreements between the Bureau of Reclamation and eligible entities for water management improvement. The bill expands eligibility for such agreements to include nonprofit conservation organizations. Further, the bill allows certain financial assistance made available under an existing drought relief program to be used to assist state and tribal governments in addressing drought-related impacts to water supplies or any other immediate water-related crises. The bill reauthorizes the program through FY2030. Additionally, the bill increases the maximum federal share of costs for certain infrastructure improvements and activities for groundwater management that provide benefits to consumptive water users (i.e., users of water that is not returned to a stream, river, or water treatment plant) and nonconsumptive ecological or recreational values. The bill also requires Reclamation to carry out a water acquisition program in specified river basins. Further, Interior must analyze the extent to which changes in water supply will affect native biodiversity and must produce strategies for sustaining native biodiversity during periods of drought.
Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House, Part I), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
What a vote does
A “Yea” vote
If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.
A “Nay” vote
If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.
PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).
What does this mean? (plain words)
Official text
Western Water Security Act of 2020
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House, Part I)
AI explanation – may be wrong, check the official text
No AI explanation yet. It takes up to a minute to write and is then saved for everyone.
Limited to a few requests an hour per person.
The strongest published arguments
Arguments for (supporters)
Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.
Arguments against (opponents)
Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.
Alternatives
Needs sources: no published alternatives yet (for example a different bill, a law instead of an amendment, or keeping current law). We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.
How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Rep. Torres Small, Xochitl [D-NM-2] · 5 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Diana DeGette (D-CO)
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Words on this page, explained (4)
- Appropriation
- Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
- Authorization
- A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
- Bill
- A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
- Securities
- Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House, Part I)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116hr4891.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/hr>
Record fed-us-cong116-hr4891 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116