[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 266 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 266

    Expressing the sense of the Congress with regard to the world's 
                         freshwater resources.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 6, 2007

Ms. Schakowsky submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
 referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the 
Committees on Ways and Means and Financial Services, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
    Expressing the sense of the Congress with regard to the world's 
                         freshwater resources.

Whereas the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development 
        established March 22nd as World Water Day to promote the international 
        observance of water as a human right;
Whereas available freshwater represents less than one-half of 1 percent of the 
        world's total water stock;
Whereas global consumption of water is doubling every 20 years, more than twice 
        the rate of human population growth;
Whereas 31 countries currently face water shortages with another 17 likely to be 
        added to this list by 2025;
Whereas more than 1,000,000,000 people already lack adequate access to safe 
        drinking water; 2,500,000,000 people have no access to proper sanitation 
        and more than 5,000,000 people, mostly children, die each year from 
        water-related diseases;
Whereas the United Nations Millennium Development Goals call for reducing by 
        one-half the number of those without safe drinking water and sanitation 
        by the year 2015;
Whereas international trade agreements threaten sustainable and local management 
        of water;
Whereas the poorest pay the highest price to access water;
Whereas civil society often have little say in water policy priorities;
Whereas the people of the United States have often expressed their compassionate 
        desire to assist those in most need;
Whereas international financial institutions, institutions that receive 
        significant U.S. funds, focus on private sector management of water that 
        has been deemed a failure in providing access to the poor;
Whereas the Water for the Poor Act of 2005 calls on the United States Congress 
        to significantly increase and prioritize water provision in United 
        States international programs;
Whereas countries around the world have ratified international human rights 
        agreements and enacted national constitutional provisions and laws 
        enshrining the human right to water;
Whereas member States acting in human rights institutions of the United Nations 
        have affirmed the human right to water calling upon all governments to 
        take steps to ensure that a sufficient amount of good quality, 
        affordable water be made available for all within a reasonable distance 
        from a person's home;
Whereas the United Nations Human Development Report of 2007 calls on all 
        governments to recognize the human right to water, prioritize and fund 
        water and sanitation in national budgets, provide international 
        assistance for water projects and develop a strong global plan of 
        action; and
Whereas the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change forecasts increased 
        difficulty in improving access to safe drinking water and additional 
        costs to the water services sector from changing water levels and 
        contamination: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) asserts that water management priorities should reflect 
        the goals of safeguarding and sustaining water resources;
            (2) affirms water as a public trust and global public good 
        that should not be treated as a private commodity where this 
        would limit or deny public access to freshwater resources;
            (3) affirms that the United States Congress firmly commits 
        itself to meet the Millennium Development Goals, especially as 
        they pertain to universal, sustainable access to safe and 
        affordable water;
            (4) affirms that access to international loans and debt 
        reduction programs should not be conditioned on implementing 
        increased cost recovery policies when those policies would 
        result in significantly increased water rates that reduce 
        access to safe drinking water and sanitation;
            (5) asserts that the United States Executive Directors of 
        international financial institutions should not approve loans 
        that require increased cost recovery, or water privatization or 
        public-private partnerships that would result in significant 
        increases in consumer water fees or in other ways restrict 
        affordable access to water;
            (6) asserts that Federal policies should ensure that in the 
        United States direct and indirect sources of water pollution, 
        including factories, refineries, commercial agriculture, and 
        wastewater treatment plants, are adequately regulated and those 
        responsible held accountable for the pollution they cause;
            (7) deems that Federal funding not be conditioned on the 
        consideration of public/private partnerships or other forms of 
        privatization that would restrict affordable access to water;
            (8) upholds the principle that governments should engage 
        all members of society, including local civil society 
        organizations, citizen associations, environmental groups, 
        indigenous peoples, farmers, women, workers, and others, in 
        direct and meaningful participation in overseeing decisions 
        about the conservation, distribution, use, and management of 
        water in their communities, localities, and regions;
            (9) recommends that international, regional, and bilateral 
        trade agreements should not include conditions related to the 
        provision of water for human use that would result in reduced 
        access to water;
            (10) recognizes the need to fully fund the Water for the 
        Poor Act of 2007 to ensure that all individuals, especially 
        those in most need, have equitable access to safe and 
        affordable water; and
            (11) recognizes the human right to water as fundamental for 
        life and health, and sufficient and safe drinking water is a 
        precondition for the realization of all other human rights.
                                 <all>