January 25, 2024 2:50 a.m.

On Wednesday, Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said they have joined Senate colleagues in calling on the Senate Appropriations Committee to restore funding for the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program for Fiscal Year 2024.

A release said the crucial funding that expired at the end of FY23 gave assistance to low-income families, tribes and urban communities with water and wastewater bills.

The senators wrote, “Water and sewer bills are rising more than twice as quickly as inflation and increasing faster than energy bills, medical expenses, and household incomes. The need for low-income household water assistance is just as important to public health and economic development as other basic needs such as home energy and nutrition, which has benefited from Federal support for decades”.

The senators continued, “As Congress works towards authorizing a permanent water assistance program to safeguard water affordability, we urge the Committee to provide continued funding for LIHWAP so that we may continue to provide critical water assistance to our most vulnerable children and families and ensure that those who need the help in paying their water bills are able to do so”.

The letter was led by Senator Alex Padilla of California. In addition to Wyden and Merkley, the letter was signed by 22 other senators.