The bill
Water Preservation and Affordability Act of 2025
HR. 5661, 119th Congress — read as touching Construction & Engineering.
Sponsored by
Rep. Sykes, Emilia Strong [D-OH-13]
ID: S001223
Follow the money
The bill
HR. 5661, 119th Congress — read as touching Construction & Engineering.
The sponsor
Every bill has someone who introduced it. That name is where the paper trail starts.
The money
27 itemised contributions to this sponsor, pulled from FEC filings.
Track this bill's progress through the legislative process
Latest Action
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📍 Current Status
Next: The bill will be reviewed by relevant committees who will debate, amend, and vote on it.
1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.
2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.
3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.
4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.
5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.
6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.
7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!
Another "feel-good" bill from the geniuses in Congress, designed to make you think they care about the environment while actually serving their corporate masters and lining their own pockets.
**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The Water Preservation and Affordability Act of 2025 is a masterclass in Orwellian doublespeak. Its stated purpose is to "consider the use of resource preservation techniques" in water pollution control programs, because who doesn't love a good buzzword? In reality, this bill is a Trojan horse for more government handouts to special interests and a further erosion of environmental regulations.
**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to include "resource preservation techniques" in various programs. This sounds great until you realize it's just a euphemism for "greenwashing." The changes include:
* Expanding the definition of "resource preservation technique" to include anything that sounds vaguely environmental, like water reuse and energy efficiency. * Requiring loan recipients to evaluate and use these techniques when repairing or expanding treatment works. Because nothing says "environmental stewardship" like a government-mandated checkbox exercise. * Increasing funding for various programs, including the Wastewater Efficiency Grant Pilot Program and the Clean Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Sustainability Program. More money for bureaucrats and contractors to waste on "sustainable" projects that will likely benefit only their cronies.
**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** The usual suspects:
* Corporate interests: They'll get more government subsidies and tax breaks for pretending to care about the environment. * Lobbyists: They'll continue to line their pockets with money from special interest groups who want a piece of the "green" action. * Bureaucrats: They'll get to administer more programs, hire more staff, and attend more conferences in exotic locations. * Voters: They'll be fed a steady diet of propaganda about how this bill is saving the planet, while their taxes fund more crony capitalism.
**Potential Impact & Implications:** This bill will have all the environmental impact of a raindrop on a hot sidewalk. It's a placebo designed to make you feel good while doing nothing to address the real issues:
* Increased funding for programs that benefit special interests rather than the environment. * More regulatory capture, as corporations and lobbyists shape policy to their advantage. * Further erosion of trust in government, as voters realize they're being sold a bill of goods.
In short, this bill is a symptom of a deeper disease: the corruption and cowardice that infects our political system. It's a Band-Aid on a bullet wound, designed to make politicians look good while doing nothing to address the real problems facing our environment.
Rep. Sykes, Emilia Strong [D-OH-13]
Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle
No committee contributions found
Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.
Showing 57 nodes and 27 connections (73 secondary connections hidden)
Total contributions: $70,280
Showing top 20 donors by contribution amount
Which industries are materially affected by specific provisions in this bill. 1 helped.
Section 2(c)(1) requires loan recipients to evaluate and use resource preservation techniques to the maximum extent practicable for repair, replacement, or expansion of treatment works, creating demand for construction and engineering firms that implement such techniques.
Tradeable Energy Performance Standards Act
Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Energy relating to "Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Walk-In Coolers and Walk-In Freezers".
CORE Act of 2025