American Water Stewardship Act
This bill extends federal funding through 2031 for major regional water cleanups, including the Great Lakes, Long Island Sound, the Columbia River Basin, San Francisco Bay, and national estuaries. It also renews federal grants for testing water quality at public beaches, expanding those funds so local health agencies can identify specific sources of beach pollution using newer testing methods. To oversee spending, the bill requires an independent federal audit of regional watershed programs and bars any grant money from going to entities based in designated foreign countries of concern.
What this bill touches.
Who it helps · who it burdens.
Who it helps
- Regional water and estuary restoration grant recipientsSecs. 2, 3, 4, 6(a)(2), and 7(a) reauthorize federal funding through fiscal year 2031 for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, Long Island Sound, Columbia River Basin, National Estuary Program, and beach water quality monitoring.
- Public and private contractors for San Francisco Bay restorationSec. 5 expands funding mechanisms to allow contracts and interagency agreements with private and public entities (rather than just grants) to carry out San Francisco Bay restoration projects.
- State and local beach water monitoring agenciesSec. 7(a) authorizes state and local governments to use beach grant funds to identify specific sources of contamination in coastal recreation waters, expanding the allowable uses of these grants.
Who it burdens
- Non-federal recipients of San Francisco Bay restoration fundingSec. 5(2)(C) limits federal assistance to 75 percent of project costs and mandates that non-federal entities cover at least 25 percent of costs from non-federal sources.
- States using beach grants to identify contamination sourcesSec. 7(a)(1)(A) requires states that use federal beach grants to track down contamination sources to report all resulting data on those identified sources to the EPA.
- Government Accountability Office (Comptroller General)Sec. 9 directs the Comptroller General to conduct a detailed evaluation of eleven regional EPA geographic programs covering fund efficiency, performance, coordination, and ethics, and submit a report to Congress within two years.
Who opposes it
- Entities based in or partnered with designated foreign countries of concernSec. 8 explicitly bars entities domiciled, headquartered, or organized in a designated foreign country of concern, as well as projects conducted with such countries, from receiving any funding under the specified EPA water and estuary programs.
The provisions, in plain language.
Show all 12 provisions
Reauthorizes federal funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative through fiscal year 2031.
Expands the San Francisco Bay restoration program to allow funding through contracts and agreements with private and public entities, while capping federal funding at 75 percent of project costs.
Adds the Mississippi Sound to the National Estuary Program, while barring program funds from being spent on it in fiscal year 2026 or in fiscal year 2027 unless overall program funding increases by at least $850,000 over fiscal year 2024 levels.
Reauthorizes federal funding for the National Estuary Program through fiscal year 2031.
Allows state and local governments to use federal beach grants to pinpoint specific sources of water contamination, requiring recipients to report any contamination data they collect.
Reauthorizes federal grants to state and local governments for public beach water quality testing and public notification through fiscal year 2031.
Expands the coastal waters covered by federal beach monitoring and notification rules to include river mouths, streams, shallow waters, and waters directly on beaches.
Prohibits federal funding under these water quality and estuary programs from going to entities based in designated foreign countries of concern or for projects carried out with them.
Reauthorizes federal funding for the Long Island Sound restoration program through fiscal year 2031.
Reauthorizes federal funding for the Columbia River Basin Restoration Program through fiscal year 2031.
Requires the Environmental Protection Agency to ensure its guidance for beach monitoring grants reflects newer water contamination testing technologies.
Directs the Comptroller General to evaluate and report to Congress within two years on the spending efficiency, performance, and ethics of eleven major regional EPA water programs.
Reauthorizes federal funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative through fiscal year 2031.
Expands the San Francisco Bay restoration program to allow funding through contracts and agreements with private and public entities, while capping federal funding at 75 percent of project costs.
Adds the Mississippi Sound to the National Estuary Program, while barring program funds from being spent on it in fiscal year 2026 or in fiscal year 2027 unless overall program funding increases by at least $850,000 over fiscal year 2024 levels.
Reauthorizes federal funding for the National Estuary Program through fiscal year 2031.
Allows state and local governments to use federal beach grants to pinpoint specific sources of water contamination, requiring recipients to report any contamination data they collect.
Reauthorizes federal grants to state and local governments for public beach water quality testing and public notification through fiscal year 2031.
Expands the coastal waters covered by federal beach monitoring and notification rules to include river mouths, streams, shallow waters, and waters directly on beaches.
Prohibits federal funding under these water quality and estuary programs from going to entities based in designated foreign countries of concern or for projects carried out with them.
How your members of Congress line up
How members voted on American Water Stewardship Act.
Recorded roll calls on this bill, most recent first. Open one to see each member's position.
How it moved.
Show all 17 actions
- Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
- Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 378 - 32 (Roll no. 97). (text: CR H2662-2663)
- Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 378 - 32 (Roll no. 97).
- Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H2665-2666)
- At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
- DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 6422.
- Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H2662-2665)
- Mr. Taylor moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 485.
- Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. H. Rept. 119-564.
- Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.
- Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment Discharged
- Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
- Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
- Introduced in House
- Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
- Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 378 - 32 (Roll no. 97). (text: CR H2662-2663)
- Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 378 - 32 (Roll no. 97).
- Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. H. Rept. 119-564.
- Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.
- Introduced in House
Read it for yourself.
Sources & provenance
Cite this page
Civic Herald. “American Water Stewardship Act (H.R. 6422, 119th Congress).” https://civicherald.app/bills/119-hr-6422. Congress.gov record as of Jul 13, 2026.