For Immediate Release, May 20, 2021
Contact:
Dana Floberg, Free Press Action, (202) 265-1490, dfloberg@freepress.net Taylor Billings, Corporate Accountability, (504) 621-6487, tbillings@corporateaccountability.org
Rianna Eckel, Food & Water Watch, (978) 835-6230, reckel@fwwatch.org
Senate Bill Aims to Protect Americans From Utility Shutoffs, Mounting Debt Crisis
WASHINGTON Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) introduced a bill today that would place a national moratorium on the disconnection of electric, water and broadband utility service due to uncollected payments. An increasing number of people in the country are at risk of losing access to vital utilities, including electricity, water and broadband, as utility debt increases nationwide.
The Maintaining Access to Essential Services Act would provide low-interest loans to electric, water and broadband utilities to cover the cost of uncollected household payments in exchange for a moratorium on shutoffs.