Senator Shelley Moore Capito applauded passage of a bill to invest more than $35 billion in drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects across the country.
Capito, R-W.Va., introduced and co-wrote the Drinking Water and Waste Water Infrastructure Act of 2021 with a bipartisan group of her fellow senators. It is the first infrastructure bill to clear the Senate floor under the Biden administration. The legislation will go next to the House of Representatives.
In a press conference with West Virginia reporters this afternoon, Capito said the bill represents “moving forward on the modernization of our drinking water and our wastewater, with aid to the state and to the locals. We’re very excited about what we’ve seen.”
“So not only is it good from a policy standpoint, it’s very good politically because we’ve been able to follow through on the hope that we would work together, bipartisan, to get things done.”
The bill passed the Senate 89-2. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, both Republicans, voted against the bill.
The legislation authorizes more than $35 billion for drinking water and wastewater resource development projects with a focus on upgrading aging infrastructure, addressing the threat of climate change, investing in new technologies and providing assistance to marginalized communities.
Capito focused on investments to identify and prevent water loss, test water quality, increase resilience in infrastructure and increase investment to try to recruit and maintain the water and wastewater utility workforce.
“This legislation is a bipartisan, responsible, and meaningful investment that will advance infrastructure to help local communities keep their drinking water safe and clean,” she stated.
The legislation passed out of the Senate’s Committee on Environment and Public Works, where Capito is the ranking Republican, earlier this year on a 20-0 vote.
The bill was also introduced by senators Tom Carper, D-Del., who is chairman of the environment and public works committee; Ben Cardin, D-Md.; Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.; Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo.; and Kevin Cramer, R-N.D.
Duckworth was among those who spoke in favor of the bill on the Senate floor this week. “Access to clean water is a human right, and every American deserves access to clean water no matter their zip code, the color of their skin or the size of their income,” Duckworth said.
Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., voted in favor of the bill today and said it includes major priorities for West Virginia.
“I always say that every West Virginian and American deserve clean water to drink and fresh air to breathe,” Manchin stated.
“This bipartisan legislation will upgrade and replace water infrastructure throughout West Virginia, as well as improve access to safe drinking water by allocating funds for rural and disadvantaged communities.”
The bill reauthorizes the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund at elevated levels for the first time in 35 years, bringing the program’s cumulative commitment to $14.65 billion over five years.
The Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund, which is set to expire at the end of the year, is also reauthorized. It receives equal funding for the first time with the CWSRF, so the $14.65 billion investment will help states repair aging infrastructure, including lead pipes, and fix water quality problems so that more Americans have access to clean, safe water.
The bill also bolsters a grant program to provide $760 million for small, rural, and disadvantaged communities over the next four years.
And it authorizes $710 million to resolve the public health problem caused by lead pollution in drinking water.
Additionally, the bill establishes new grant programs totaling $550 million annually to assist eligible households in connecting to existing drinking water or wastewater infrastructure or in installing or upgrading decentralized wastewater systems.
“I’m hopeful that as we move forward with our work on other infrastructure priorities that we remember this moment,” Capito said today.