[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 119 (Tuesday, September 28, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H7581]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION RESOLUTION

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, on the floor of the House we regularly 
deal with problems and tragedies. Recently, we have been contending 
with the horrible consequences of the hurricanes in Florida. But the 
greatest tragedy in the world today is seldom mentioned here on this 
floor. Between 2 and 5 million people each year die needlessly because 
of a lack of access to clean water and adequate sanitation, up to 
10,000 people a day and even more tragically over 4,000 children each 
and every day. Eighty percent of all illness in the developing world is 
water related, and at any given time, half the population is sick from 
water-related disease.
  Inadequate sanitation makes worse the problems of poverty, disease, 
bio-diversity loss, climate change impact and general environmental 
degradation.
  In the developing world, 90 to 95 percent of household wastes are 
released untreated into streams, open drains, lake, rivers and coastal 
waters and lead to wider environmental problems. Many young women in 
the developing world are not able to go to school because of how much 
time they spend just getting the water supply for their family.
  The magnitude is difficult to comprehend. More than 1.1 billion 
people lack access to safe drinking water. One in six of the world's 
population and more than 2.3 billion, one in three, lack access to 
adequate sanitation.
  We have established under the United Nations' Sustainable Development 
Conference goals, that we are going to reduce by one-half the people in 
this desperate status. In order to achieve the targets we are going to 
have to supply 175,000 people a day for the next 10 years with drinking 
water and sanitation targets for 400,000 people a day. Yet this is a 
problem that can be solved. We know what to do. We know how to do it. 
Yes, it will cost tens of billions of dollars. But just in the United 
States each year, we spend $61 billion on soft drinks, $71 billion on 
beer, $23 billion on bottled water.
  Do we think that the United States can help provide 4 cents a day per 
person to be able to stop the ravages of water borne disease? Indeed, 
if the developing world would step up to do its share, it would not 
even be 4 cents a day because, already, in these troubled countries 
people are spending an inordinate amount of money on inadequate water 
supplies. It would be just 2 cents a day extra if the developed world 
would meet its responsibilities, less than the price of a take-out 
pizza every year.
  I urge Members of the House to consider this issue. This month marks 
the second anniversary of the World Summit on Sustainable Development 
in Johannesburg when we made this commitment--the United States and 185 
other countries to reduce the population in need by one-half.
  We have a resolution, H. Res. 782, that reaffirms this commitment, 
commending the President's initiative, Water For the Poor. It calls for 
increased efforts by the United States and all developed countries for 
allocating water aid to the communities with the greatest need and to 
communities where it can make the largest difference. It requests the 
administration to report to Congress on efforts that we make to keep 
this commitment.
  On the second anniversary of the resolution, it is important for us 
to keep our eye on the ball, to make progress in incremental steps to 
help prevent tragedy on this global proportion. The resolution has 
already been bipartisan sponsorship of over 25 Members. We urge Members 
to cosponsor H. Res. 782.

                          ____________________