Congress extends water-sharing program with Mexico through 2036
S. 4846 — TAAP Act · Filed by Mark Kelly (D-AZ) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Jun 22, 2026 · Hearing held
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What it does
This bill reauthorizes a U.S.-Mexico water-sharing program that studies shared underground aquifers. It expands the program to include Arizona (with a narrow exception for the Yuma basin), extends federal funding from 2007–2016 to 2026–2036, and resets the program's sunset date. The primary beneficiary is the transboundary water-management framework itself, enabling continued scientific assessment and binational cooperation on shared groundwater resources.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative function is to extend and expand a binational aquifer-assessment program. It is a straightforward reauthorization with no hidden mechanisms or private carve-outs.
What the text implies
- The Yuma groundwater basin exception (Arizona/Sonora) may reflect a pre-existing dispute or separate management framework; the bill does not explain why this basin is excluded, leaving the rationale opaque to readers unfamiliar with Arizona water law.
- Reauthorization through 2036 commits federal resources for a decade without explicit cost estimate in the bill text; actual appropriations depend on future congressional action and budget availability.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill extends a scientific and diplomatic program that helps the U.S. and Mexico manage shared water resources, which directly affects water security and agricultural viability in border states. Continued funding and expanded geographic scope strengthen the ability to monitor and protect transboundary aquifers that supply drinking water and irrigation to millions.
Named in the bill
United States-Mexico Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Act, Arizona Department of Water Resources, Yuma groundwater basin, U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.
- Jun 22, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Jun 22, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources”
- Sep 16, 2026 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $50,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 19 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Mark Kelly, the sponsor, reported $47,750 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- University of Arizona — $50,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 16, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,044 characters) on Sep 18, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,342 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 16, 2026 · page rendered 2026-09-18.
“Congress extends water-sharing program with Mexico through 2036” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s4846 Report an error