House appropriations committee rejects amendment to fund West Virginia water needs 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 3, 2026

CONTACT
Quenton King, Government Affairs Specialist, 304-579-7366, quenton@appvoices.org
Maggie Stange, Communications Manager, 570-233-9711, mstange@wvrivers.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the House Appropriations Committee voted to advance its Interior and Environment funding bill for Fiscal Year 2027. During the meeting to consider the bill, U.S. Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., proposed an amendment to provide $50 million to fund drinking and wastewater infrastructure in West Virginia. 

However, the vote failed in a voice vote. 

Instead, the committee directed the Environmental Protection Agency to report to Congress about communities in Southern West Virginia whose drinking water violates federal or state regulations, detailing the reason for the violations and resources available for the agency to assist. However, drinking water violations are already public, and yet another report won’t do anything to actually improve the availability of drinking water in these communities.

During his presentation of the amendment, Moore displayed bottles of discolored and foul-smelling water collected from residents from the southernmost counties in the state.

“Let’s not abandon these folks,” Moore said during the meeting. “Let’s not forget them. These are American citizens that literally do not have water.” 

The bill now advances to the House floor, where members of the House of Representatives will have another opportunity to propose amendments to the draft legislation.

Last month, representatives from Appalachian Voices, West Virginia Rivers Coalition and From Below: Rising Together for Coalfield Justice traveled to Washington, D.C., to educate members of Congress about the water crisis in West Virginia and uplift the $250 million appropriations request from Moore and U.S. Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.Va. 

“It looks like if progress is to be made on West Virginia’s water crisis during this appropriations cycle, Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Jim Justice will have to step up,” said Government Affairs Specialist Quenton King. “It’s 2026; the wealthiest nation in the world should have clean water for all of its residents. We applaud  Rep. Riley Moore for offering an amendment to devote funding to the state’s water problems in the coalfields.”

“This is not an abstract policy debate,” said WV Rivers Coalition Policy Specialist Maria Russo. “This is about people. It’s about families who have spent years worrying about what is in their water, communities struggling to afford solutions, and residents who simply want the assurance that their water is clean and safe. Every day without action is another day that people are left living with uncertainty and risk. West Virginia deserves immediate action for our water infrastructure.”