SEWER Act

House Bill

H.R. 766

119th Congress

SEWER Act

In Committee

Introduced:Jan 28, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Robert Garcia

Representative

Democratic

CA-42

Cosponsors

2

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Health

Summary

This bill provides statutory authority for the CDC National Wastewater Surveillance System that monitors disease outbreaks by testing sewage. It requires expansion to track COVID-19, influenza, mpox, dengue, West Nile virus, and RSV.

Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

SponsorRobert Garcia (D-CA)

Introduced1/28/2025

StatusReferred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

ChamberHouse

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Vote Prediction

SEWER Act

This bill provides statutory authority for the CDC National Wastewater Surveillance System that monitors disease outbreaks by testing sewage. It requires expansion to track COVID-19, influenza, mpox, dengue, West Nile virus, and RSV.

Community Breakdown

Pass

0%

Fail

0%

0 predictions

This bill provides statutory authority for the CDC National Wastewater Surveillance System that monitors disease outbreaks by testing sewage. It requires expansion to track COVID-19, influenza, mpox, dengue, West Nile virus, and RSV.

Bill Number: 766
Sponsor: Robert Garcia (D-CA)
Introduced: 1/28/2025
Status: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Policy Area: Health

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: SEWER Act
Bill Number: 766
Sponsor: Robert Garcia (D-CA)
Status: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced: 1/28/2025
Summary: This bill provides statutory authority for the CDC National Wastewater Surveillance System that monitors disease outbreaks by testing sewage. It requires expansion to track COVID-19, influenza, mpox, dengue, West Nile virus, and RSV.

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill provides statutory authority for the CDC National Wastewater Surveillance System that monitors disease outbreaks by testing sewage. It requires expansion to track COVID-19, influenza, mpox, dengue, West Nile virus, and RSV.

Last updated: 1/5/2026

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Surveilling Effluent Water for Epidemic Response Act or the SEWER ActThis bill provides statutory authority for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) program, which detects and monitors pathogens in wastewater. It requires the CDC to expand and intensify the activities of the NWSS, including with respect to SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), influenza, mpox, dengue, West Nile virus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The NWSS provides funding and guidance to public health departments for wastewater surveillance activities. Under the NWSS, health departments and other partners coordinate on wastewater surveillance at sampling sites and share data with the CDC. The NWSS was initially implemented to monitor SARS-CoV-2 and has since expanded to include influenza A, avian influenza A, mpox, and RSV.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Authorizes CDC wastewater disease surveillance program
Monitors SARS-CoV-2, flu, mpox, dengue, RSV
Detects outbreaks through sewage testing
Expands existing NWSS program activities
Provides early warning for disease spread

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

Public health officials would have expanded ability to detect disease outbreaks by monitoring wastewater, which can identify community spread before people seek medical care. The system proved valuable during COVID-19 for tracking variants.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Health

Related Subjects

Hazardous wastes and toxic substances

Health programs administration and funding

Infectious and parasitic diseases

Water quality

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

766, 119th Congress (2025). "SEWER Act". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-hr-766

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