COVID Water Bill Assistance Finally Underway

• Author: Martha Stanton
• Posted: 2024-10-02

To say that the COVID pandemic was a gigantic mess is a massive understatement. Not only the fact that many lost their lives and their livelihoods, but also that so much of what the government tried just spectacularly failed and is still failing. Those trillions of dollars the federal government spent, for instance, is mostly unaccounted for and nobody knows where the money went.

The government seems to get money to Ukraine just fine, and on time, but couldn't do that for American citizens. They bickered for nearly two months about whether stimulus checks to suffering people should be for $1,000 or $1,200. The government also tried to open many assistance programs that failed to launch, such as the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program. It never did get underway during COVID, but it's starting to roll out now, nearly two years later.

This program was literally marketed as an emergency response program for COVID-19, to help low-income families afford their utility bills. You have very likely never even heard of it. It's not a program that politicians speak about in their speeches, especially this close to the midterms. People who want your vote on the promise that they can fix your problems certainly do not want to shed light on the fact that they cannot fix problems. Over 20 months ago, Congress funded this program to the tune of $1.1 billion and supposedly moved this money into states for distribution. It never got there.

Keep in mind here that this wasn't some government infrastructure initiative in order to build waterways and re-do old pipes and rebuild water treatment facilities. This was merely a transactional program with a financial stipulation: We, the federal government, will give you, the independent states, millions of dollars. With this money, make sure low-income families can pay their water bill. It really is laughable to realize just how badly the government messed this program up. It was essentially a wire transfer with a post-it note, and nearly two years later the program is just starting up in a few areas in America.

The numbers are frightening for anyone, and likely maddening for people who needed (or still need) help and never got it. According to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), nine entire states never implemented the program. Nine more have helped fewer than one thousand residents. And the data for the other 32 states isn't even accurate or up to date enough to glean anything from. Of all the government assistance programs ever launched to help poor Americans, this might be the biggest failure.

However, according to DHS observers, the program is starting to really roll out now. If it does become a success and does what it was supposed to, that is still a good thing. With record inflation, which includes record high utility bills, help is needed now perhaps more than it was during COVID. That isn't to say you should let a politician spin this failure into a success, however. But it is suggesting that people still do need help, and they should definitely get it through this program that has just happened to exist since 2020 unbeknownst to practically everyone.

 

Maybe They'll Figure it Out for Climate Change

Keep in mind here that the same federal government that cannot get a DMV under control, or make the Postal Service a success, or even give money out to poor people, is the same government telling you to rely on them more so that they can fix the entire planet and save everyone from climate change. Maybe, if poor Americans are lucky, they'll get that money to pay their water bills before the government figures out how to reverse a supposed global problem from their Curia of Pompey in Washington D.C. - but you shouldn't hold your breath.

The real issue here might not be with the politicians that you see in Congress on a daily basis. Some have speculated that the DHHS is just wholly incompetent and did not communicate with any of the states well enough to make the water program a successful one. Whether that's true or not, the fact is that Congress appoints these organizations and is supposed to oversee them. The buck cannot be completely passed here. It is a failure of the government.



If you're struggling and cannot afford your water bill, contact your local government office and inquire about this program. It was supposedly created for your benefit, so you may as well check up on it.