,i  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ghde  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,march #e1 #bjbf,mr4 
,peters 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,barragn1    
,mr4 ,garamendi1 ,mr4 ,vargas1 ,ms4     
,jacobs1 ,mr4 ,costa1 ,mr4 ,ruiz1 and   
,mr4 ,levin7 introduced the following   
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,transportation and       
,infrastructure1 and in addition to the 
,committee on ,energy and ,commerce1 for
 a period to be subsequently determined 
by the ,speaker1 in each case for       
consideration of such provisions as fall
 within the jurisdiction of the         
committee concerned  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
amend the ,water ,infrastructure        
,finance and ,innovation ,act of #bjad  
with respect to the total amount of     
,federal assistance for projects in     
,states experiencing severe drought1    
regionally and nationally significant   
projects1 and for other purposes4  #a4  
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,drought ,relief ,obtained ,using   

,government ,help ,today ,act of #bjbf  
or the ,,drought ,act of #bjbf4  #b4    
,federal assistance for certain water   
infrastructure projects ,section        
#ejbi7;b77#i7 of the ,water             
,infrastructure ,finance and ,innovation
 ,act of #bjad 7#cc ,u4,s4,c4           
#cijh7;b77#i77 is amended by adding at  
the end the following3  7,d7 ,exceptions
 for certain projects  7i7 ,in general  
,notwithstanding subparagraph 7,a71 the 
total amount of ,federal assistance for 
a covered project for which assistance  
is provided under this subtitle shall   
not exceed #ij percent of the total     
project cost4  7ii7 ,priority ,in       
carrying out this section1 the          
,secretary or the ,administrator1 as    
applicable shall prioritize financing   
for covered projects4  7iii7            
,definitions ,in this subparagraph1 the 
term covered project means a project    
described in paragraph 7#f7 or 7#g7 of  
section #ejbf-- 7,i7 that is located    
in--  7aa7 a ,state that has been       

designated as ,d#b 7severe drought7 or  
greater according to the ,united ,states
 ,drought ,monitor for a minimum of #d  
weeks during the #e-year period         
preceding the date on which assistance  
is provided for the project under this  
subtitle2 or  7bb7 a county for which a 
drought emergency has been declared by  
the applicable ,governor at any time    
during such period2  7,,ii7 that        
serves-- 7aa7 an area in which1 on the  
date on which assistance is provided for
 the project under this subtitle1 the   
average household income is at or below 
#bjj percent of the poverty threshold   
established by the ,bureau of the       
,census2 or  7bb7 an area that meets the
 affordability criteria established by a
 ,state pursuant to section             
#adeb7;d77#c7 of the ,safe ,drinking    
,water ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4              
#cjj;j#ab7;d77#c77 or section           
#fjc7;i77#b7 of the ,federal ,water     
,pollution ,control ,act 7#cc ,u4,s4,c4 
#achc7;i77#b772 or  7,,iii7 that the    

,secretary or the ,administrator1 as    
applicable1 has designated to be a      
project of regional or national         
significance because the project        
demonstrably--  7aa7 increases drinking 
water supply capacity or reliability2   
7bb7 enhances water reuse or recycling2 
7cc7 reduces regional water usage2  7dd7
 lowers costs to ratepayers2 or  7ee7   
provides substantial public health or   
environmental benefits4  4