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H.R. 616: Emergency Water is a Human Right Act

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H.R. 616: Emergency Water is a Human Right Act

117th Congress · introduced 2021-01-28 · Water Resources Development · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2021-01-28 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-13] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Emergency Water is a Human Right Act

Plain summary

Emergency Water is a Human Right Act This bill creates a grant program, administered by the Department of Health and Human Services, to provide funds to states and Indian tribes to assist low-income households that pay a high proportion of household income for drinking water and wastewater services. Further, any entity receiving financial assistance under this grant program must ensure that no home energy service or public water system service is or remains disconnected or interrupted during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), 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

Emergency Water is a Human Right Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

AI explanation – may be wrong, check the official text

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The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-13] · 115 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Katherine M. Clark (D-MA), Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Jesús G. "Chuy" García (D-IL), Jahana Hayes (D-CT), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Ro Khanna (D-CA), John B. Larson (D-CT), Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA), Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL), Haley M. Stevens (D-MI), Thomas R. Suozzi (D-NY), Lori Trahan (D-MA), Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Steven Horsford (D-NV), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Robin L. Kelly (D-IL), Darren Soto (D-FL) and 55 more.

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-13] reported raising $3.3 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

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 (1)
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).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong117-hr616 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong117 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong117