YVN Summary
\n\nRural households with unsafe tap water could get help paying for a filter. The Agriculture Department would hand out grants to buy, install, and maintain home water treatment units. Homeowners, renters, small landlords, and licensed child care centers could apply. You would first need a lab test showing a health contaminant, such as lead, arsenic, or PFAS. Grants would pay for that test too.\n\nMoney is limited. The bill would allow $10 million a year for the whole country, through 2029. Your household income must be at or below 150% of your state's typical rural income. Landlords qualify only for buildings with 25 units or fewer. Only rural areas count. Private well owners would go to the front of the line.\n\nInstallation and upkeep would have to be done by trained plumbers or water treatment workers. Do-it-yourself work would not be covered. Filters must meet safety standards set by outside groups. The bill names four such groups, including the water treatment industry's own trade association. The Agriculture Department would write the rules within 120 days. It would then publish a yearly report on what it bought and what pollutes rural drinking water.
","status":"COMMITTEE_CONSIDERATION","topics":["HEALTHCARE","AGRICULTURE","GOVERNMENT_OPERATIONS"],"introducedAt":"2025-07-23T00:00:00+00:00","latestActionAt":"2025-07-23T00:00:00+00:00","congressGovUrl":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4721","accountabilityFlags":{"your_money":["↑ Help paying for home water filters — buy, install, and upkeep covered","↑ Renters and child care centers — can apply, not just homeowners","↓ Grants for higher-earning rural households — cut off at 150% of typical income","↑ Private well owners get priority — Agriculture Department must put them first","↑ Grants pay for water testing — plus help reading the results"],"environment":["↑ Yearly study of drinking water pollution — farm practices included"],"workers_jobs":["↑ Paid installs limited to trained professionals — grants won't cover do-it-yourself work"],"corporate_benefits":["↑ Federal money for certified filter makers — grants buy only certified products"],"targeted_provisions":["↑ Filter approval groups named in law — one is the industry's trade group"],"transparency_accountability":["↑ Yearly public report on the program — what was bought and tested","↑ Congress must renew after 2029 — the money is not permanent"]},"tldr":"If your rural home's tap water is unsafe, grants could help pay for a filter — $10 million a year.","summaryStandard":"v2","flagExplainers":{"your_money":["Grants would cover a home water treatment unit, putting it in, and keeping it up. Replacement filters would be covered too.","Renters, homeowners, landlords with 25 units or fewer, and licensed child care centers would all count. The home or facility would have to be in a rural area.","Your household's income for the last 12 months would be measured against your state's median rural household income, taken from the last census. Above 150% of that, you would not qualify.","In handing out grants, the Agriculture Department would have to favor homes on private wells. The bill says those homes face the worst water problems.","A grant could pay for a lab test of your tap water, with results going to you and the Agriculture Department. Nonprofit groups could also get grants to run tests and help you pick a filter."],"environment":["Each year the Agriculture Department would have to report on what is fouling rural drinking water. The list covers pipes, waste, and how crops and land are managed."],"workers_jobs":["Only a licensed plumber or a trained water worker could do a paid install or service call. They would also have to keep taking water treatment classes."],"corporate_benefits":["A filter would count only if an outside group has tested and certified it against set safety standards. Grant money could buy those filters alone."],"targeted_provisions":["The bill names four groups that may approve filters. One is the Water Quality Association, the trade group for water treatment companies."],"transparency_accountability":["The report would go to Congress and to the public within a year, then every year after. It would list the types of filters used and how many water tests were done.","The bill would allow up to $10 million a year through 2029, and no longer. Congress would still have to vote the money each year."]},"flagValence":{"your_money":["good","good","contested","good","good"],"environment":["good"],"workers_jobs":["contested"],"corporate_benefits":["contested"],"targeted_provisions":["contested"],"transparency_accountability":["good","contested"]},"needsResummary":false,"displaySummaryHtml":null,"rawStatusText":"Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.","chamber":"HOUSE","policyArea":"Environmental Protection","legislativeSubjects":[],"lawStatus":null,"lawNumber":null,"latestActionText":null,"latestTextVersion":null,"textVersionUsed":"Introduced in House","dateAdded":"2026-04-06T00:00:00+00:00","summarizedAt":"2026-08-18T00:00:00+00:00","recordId":"8534280c-8cda-4db8-a420-fcaff7aabae5","feedIdentityKey":"119/hr/4721","websiteBillId":"HR-4721","yourvoiceSummary":"Rural households with unsafe tap water could get help paying for a filter. The Agriculture Department would hand out grants to buy, install, and maintain home water treatment units. Homeowners, renters, small landlords, and licensed child care centers could apply. You would first need a lab test showing a health contaminant, such as lead, arsenic, or PFAS. Grants would pay for that test too.\n\nMoney is limited. The bill would allow $10 million a year for the whole country, through 2029. Your household income must be at or below 150% of your state's typical rural income. Landlords qualify only for buildings with 25 units or fewer. Only rural areas count. Private well owners would go to the front of the line.\n\nInstallation and upkeep would have to be done by trained plumbers or water treatment workers. Do-it-yourself work would not be covered. Filters must meet safety standards set by outside groups. The bill names four such groups, including the water treatment industry's own trade association. The Agriculture Department would write the rules within 120 days. It would then publish a yearly report on what it bought and what pollutes rural drinking water.","updatedAt":"2026-10-25T01:32:31.096125+00:00"}