III 110th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 478 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 10, 2008 Mr. Smith (for himself and Mr. Kerry) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations March 31 (legislative day, March 13), 2008 Committee discharged; considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Supporting the goals and ideals of World Water Day.

Whereas the United Nations General Assembly, via resolution, has designated March 22 of each year as World Water Day; Whereas a person needs 4 to 5 liters of water per day to survive; Whereas a person can live weeks without food, but only days without water; Whereas every 15 seconds a child dies from a water-borne disease; Whereas, for children under age 5, water-borne diseases are the leading cause of death; Whereas millions of women and children spend several hours a day collecting water from distant, often polluted sources; Whereas every dollar spent on water and sanitation saves on average $9 in costs averted and productivity gained; Whereas, at any given time, 1/2 of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from a water-borne disease; Whereas 88 percent of all diseases are caused by unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene; Whereas 1,100,000,000 (1 in 6) people lack access to an improved water supply; Whereas 2,600,000,000 people in the world lack access to improved sanitation; Whereas the global celebration of World Water Day is an initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro; Whereas the participants in the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, including the United States, agreed to the Plan of Implementation which included an agreement to work to reduce by 1/2 from the baseline year 1990 the proportion of people who are unable to reach or to afford safe drinking water, and the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015; and Whereas Congress passed and the President signed into law the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–121), which was intended to elevate the role of water and sanitation policy in the development of U.S. foreign policy and improve the effectiveness of U.S. official programs: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate— (1)supports the goals and ideals of World Water Day; (2)urges an increased effort and the investment of greater resources by the Department of State, the United States Agency for International Development, and all relevant Federal departments and agencies toward providing sustainable and equitable access to safe drinking water and sanitation for the poor and the very poor; and (3)encourages the people of the United States to observe the week with appropriate activities that promote awareness of the importance of access to clean water.