[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 146 (Monday, November 7, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H9703-H9709]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SENATOR PAUL SIMON WATER FOR THE POOR ACT OF 2005
Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 1973) to make access to safe water and sanitation for developing
countries a specific policy objective of the United States foreign
assistance programs, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 1973
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Senator Paul Simon Water for
the Poor Act of 2005''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Water-related diseases are a human tragedy, killing up
to five million people annually, preventing millions of
people from leading healthy lives, and undermining
development efforts.
(2) A child dies an average of every 15 seconds because of
lack of access to safe water and adequate sanitation.
(3) In the poorest countries in the world, one out of five
children dies from a preventable, water-related disease.
(4) Lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate
sanitation, and poor hygiene practices are directly
responsible for the vast majority of diarrheal diseases which
kill over two million children each year.
(5) At any given time, half of all people in the developing
world are suffering from one or more of the main diseases
associated with inadequate provision of water supply and
sanitation services.
(6) Over 1.1 billion people, one in every six people in the
world, lack access to safe drinking water.
(7) Nearly 2.6 billion people, two in every five people in
the world, lack access to basic sanitation services.
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(8) Half of all schools in the world do not have access to
safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
(9) Over the past 20 years, two billion people have gained
access to safe drinking water and 600 million people have
gained access to basic sanitation services.
(10) Access to safe water and sanitation and improved
hygiene are significant factors in controlling the spread of
disease in the developing world and positively affecting
worker productivity and economic development.
(11) Increasing access to safe water and sanitation
advances efforts toward other development objectives, such as
fighting poverty and hunger, promoting primary education and
gender equality, reducing child mortality, promoting
environmental stability, improving the lives of slum
dwellers, and strengthening national security.
(12) Providing safe supplies of water and sanitation and
hygiene improvements would save millions of lives by reducing
the prevalence of water-borne diseases, water-based diseases,
water-privation diseases, and water-related vector diseases.
(13) Because women and girls in developing countries are
often the carriers of water, lack of access to safe water and
sanitation disproportionately affects women and limits
women's opportunities at education, livelihood, and financial
independence.
(14) Between 20 percent and 50 percent of existing water
systems in developing countries are not operating or are
operating poorly.
(15) In developing world water delivery systems, an average
of 50 percent of all water is lost before it gets to the end-
user.
(16) Every $1 invested in safe water and sanitation would
yield an economic return of between $3 and $34, depending on
the region.
(17) Developing sustainable financing mechanisms, such as
pooling mechanisms and revolving funds, is necessary for the
long-term viability of improved water and sanitation
services.
(18) The annual level of investment needed to meet the
water and sanitation needs of developing countries far
exceeds the amount of Official Development Assistance (ODA)
and spending by governments of developing countries, so
facilitating and attracting greater public and private
investment is essential.
(19) Meeting the water and sanitation needs of the lowest-
income developing countries will require an increase in the
resources available as grants from donor countries.
(20) The long-term sustainability of improved water and
sanitation services can be advanced by promoting community
level action and engagement with civil society.
(21) Target 10 of the United Nations Millennium Development
Goals is to reduce by half the proportion of people without
sustainable access to safe drinking water by 2015.
(22) The participants in the 2002 World Summit on
Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg, South Africa,
including the United States, agreed to the Plan of
Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development
which included an agreement to work to reduce by one-half
``the proportion of people who are unable to reach or afford
safe drinking water,'' and ``the proportion of people without
access to basic sanitation'' by 2015.
(23) At the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the
United States announced the Water for the Poor Initiative,
committing $970 million for fiscal years 2003 through 2005 to
improve sustainable management of fresh water resources and
accelerate and expand international efforts to achieve the
goal of cutting in half by 2015 the proportion of people who
are unable to reach or to afford safe drinking water.
(24) United Nations General Assembly Resolution 58/217
(February 9, 2004) proclaimed ``the period from 2005 to 2015
the International Decade for Action, `Water for Life', to
commence on World Water Day, 22 March 2005'' for the purpose
of increasing the focus of the international community on
water-related issues at all levels and on the implementation
of water-related programs and projects.
(25) Around the world, 263 river basins are shared by two
or more countries, and many more basins and watersheds cross
political or ethnic boundaries.
(26) Water scarcity can contribute to insecurity and
conflict on subnational, national, and international levels,
thus endangering the national security of the United States.
(27) Opportunities to manage water problems can be
leveraged in ways to build confidence, trust, and peace
between parties in conflict.
(28) Cooperative water management can help resolve
conflicts caused by other problems and is often a crucial
component in resolving such conflicts.
(29) Cooperative water management can help countries
recover from conflict and, by promoting dialogue and
cooperation among former parties in conflict, can help
prevent the reemergence of conflict.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States--
(1) to increase the percentage of water and sanitation
assistance targeted toward countries designated as high
priority countries under section 6(f) of this Act;
(2) to ensure that water and sanitation assistance reflect
an appropriate balance of grants, loans, contracts,
investment insurance, loan guarantees, and other assistance
to further ensure affordability and equity in the provision
of access to safe water and sanitation for the very poor;
(3) to ensure that the targeting of water and sanitation
assistance reflect an appropriate balance between urban,
periurban, and rural areas to meet the purposes of assistance
described in section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of
1961, as added by section 5(a) of this Act;
(4) to ensure that forms of water and sanitation assistance
provided reflect the level of existing resources and markets
for investment in water and sanitation within recipient
countries;
(5) to ensure that water and sanitation assistance, to the
extent possible, supports the poverty reduction strategies of
recipient countries and, when appropriate, encourages the
inclusion of water and sanitation within such poverty
reduction strategies;
(6) to promote country and local ownership of safe water
and sanitation programs, to the extent appropriate;
(7) to promote community-based approaches in the provision
of affordable and equitable access to safe water and
sanitation, including the involvement of civil society;
(8) to mobilize and leverage the financial and technical
capacity of businesses, governments, nongovernmental
organizations, and civil society in the form of public-
private alliances;
(9) to encourage reforms and increase the capacity of
foreign governments to formulate and implement policies that
expand access to safe water and sanitation in an affordable,
equitable, and sustainable manner, including integrated
strategic planning; and
(10) to protect the supply and availability of safe water
through sound environmental management, including preventing
the destruction and degradation of ecosystems and watersheds.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) in order to make the most effective use of amounts of
Official Development Assistance for water and sanitation and
avoid waste and duplication, the United States should seek to
establish innovative international coordination mechanisms
based on best practices in other development sectors; and
(2) the United States should greatly increase the amount of
Official Development Assistance made available to carry out
section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added
by section 5(a) of this Act.
SEC. 5. ASSISTANCE TO PROVIDE SAFE WATER AND SANITATION.
(a) In General.--Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 135. ASSISTANCE TO PROVIDE SAFE WATER AND SANITATION.
``(a) Purposes.--The purposes of assistance authorized by
this section are--
``(1) to promote good health, economic development, poverty
reduction, women's empowerment, conflict prevention, and
environmental sustainability by providing assistance to
expand access to safe water and sanitation, promoting
integrated water resource management, and improving hygiene
for people around the world;
``(2) to seek to reduce by one-half from the baseline year
1990 the proportion of people who are unable to reach or
afford safe drinking water and the proportion of people
without access to basic sanitation by 2015;
``(3) to focus water and sanitation assistance toward the
countries, locales, and people with the greatest need;
``(4) to promote affordability and equity in the provision
of access to safe water and sanitation for the very poor,
women, and other vulnerable populations;
``(5) to improve water efficiency through water demand
management and reduction of unaccounted-for water;
``(6) to promote long-term sustainability in the affordable
and equitable provision of access to safe water and
sanitation through the creation of innovative financing
mechanisms such as national revolving funds, and by
strengthening the capacity of recipient governments and
communities to formulate and implement policies that expand
access to safe water and sanitation in a sustainable fashion,
including integrated planning;
``(7) to secure the greatest amount of resources possible,
encourage private investment in water and sanitation
infrastructure and services, particularly in lower middle-
income countries, without creating unsustainable debt for
low-income countries or unaffordable water and sanitation
costs for the very poor; and
``(8) to promote the capacity of recipient governments to
provide affordable, equitable, and sustainable access to safe
water and sanitation.
``(b) Authorization.--To carry out the purposes of
subsection (a), the President is authorized to furnish
assistance for programs in developing countries to provide
affordable and equitable access to safe water and sanitation.
``(c) Activities Supported.--Assistance provided under
subsection (b) shall, to the maximum extent practicable, be
used to--
``(1) expand affordable and equitable access to safe water
and sanitation for underserved populations;
``(2) support the design, construction, maintenance,
upkeep, repair, and operation of water delivery and
sanitation systems;
``(3) improve the safety and reliability of water supplies,
including environmental management; and
``(4) improve the capacity of recipient governments and
local communities, including
[[Page H9705]]
capacity-building programs for improved water resource
management.
``(d) Local Currency.--The President may use payments made
in local currencies under an agreement made under title I of
the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954
(7 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to provide assistance under this
section.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 104(c) of the
Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 (7
U.S.C. 1704(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following
new paragraph:
``(9) Safe water and sanitation.--To provide assistance
under section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to
promote good health, economic development, poverty reduction,
women's empowerment, conflict prevention, and environmental
sustainability by increasing affordable and equitable access
to safe water and sanitation.''.
SEC. 6. SAFE WATER AND SANITATION STRATEGY.
(a) Strategy.--The President, acting through the Secretary
of State, shall develop a strategy to further the United
States foreign assistance objective to provide affordable and
equitable access to safe water and sanitation in developing
countries, as described in section 135 of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961, as added by section 5(a) of this Act.
(b) Consultation.--The strategy required by subsection (a)
shall be developed in consultation with the Administrator of
the United States Agency for International Development, the
heads of other appropriate Federal departments and agencies,
international organizations, international financial
institutions, recipient governments, United States and
international nongovernmental organizations, indigenous civil
society, and other appropriate entities.
(c) Implementation.--The Secretary of State, acting through
the Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development, shall implement the strategy
required by subsection (a). The strategy may also be
implemented in part by other Federal departments and
agencies, as appropriate.
(d) Consistent With Safe Water and Sanitation Policy.--The
strategy required by subsection (a) shall be consistent with
the policy stated in section 3 of this Act.
(e) Content.--The strategy required by subsection (a) shall
include--
(1) an assessment of the activities that have been carried
out, or that are planned to be carried out, by all
appropriate Federal departments and agencies to improve
affordable and equitable access to safe water and sanitation
in all countries that receive assistance from the United
States;
(2) specific and measurable goals, benchmarks, and
timetables to achieve the objective described in subsection
(a);
(3) an assessment of the level of funding and other
assistance for United States water and sanitation programs
needed each year to achieve the goals, benchmarks, and
timetables described in paragraph (2);
(4) methods to coordinate and integrate United States water
and sanitation assistance programs with other United States
development assistance programs to achieve the objective
described in subsection (a);
(5) methods to better coordinate United States water and
sanitation assistance programs with programs of other donor
countries and entities to achieve the objective described in
subsection (a); and
(6) an assessment of the commitment of governments of
countries that receive assistance under section 135 of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added by section 5(a) of
this Act, to policies or policy reforms that support
affordable and equitable access by the people of such
countries to safe water and sanitation.
(f) Designation of High Priority Countries.--The strategy
required by subsection (a) shall further include the
designation of high priority countries for assistance under
section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added
by section 5(a) of this Act. This designation shall be made
on the basis of--
(1) countries in which the need for increased access to
safe water and sanitation is greatest; and
(2) countries in which assistance under such section can be
expected to make the greatest difference in promoting good
health, economic development, poverty reduction, women's
empowerment, conflict prevention, and environmental
sustainability.
(g) Reports.--
(1) Initial report.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report
that describes the strategy required by subsection (a).
(2) Subsequent reports.--
(A) In general.--Not less than once every year after the
submission of the initial report under paragraph (1) until
2015, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report on the status of the
implementation of the strategy, progress made in achieving
the objective described in subsection (a), and any changes to
the strategy since the date of the submission of the last
report.
(B) Additional information.-- Such reports shall include
information on the amount of funds expended in each country
or program, disaggregated by purpose of assistance, including
information on capital investments, and the source of such
funds by account.
(3) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``appropriate
congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on International Relations and the
Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives;
and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate.
SEC. 7. MONITORING REQUIREMENT.
The Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United
States Agency for International Development shall monitor the
implementation of assistance under section 135 of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961, as added by section 5(a) of this Act,
to ensure that the assistance is reaching its intended
targets and meeting the intended purposes of assistance.
SEC. 8. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL
CAPACITY.
It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State
should expand current programs and develop new programs, as
necessary, to train local water and sanitation managers and
other officials of countries that receive assistance under
section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added
by section 5(a) of this Act.
SEC. 9. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING ADDITIONAL WATER AND
SANITATION PROGRAMS.
It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) the United States should further support, as
appropriate, water and sanitation activities of United
Nations agencies, such as the United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),
and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); and
(2) the Secretary of the Treasury should instruct each
United States Executive Director at the multilateral
development banks (within the meaning of section 1701(c) of
the International Financial Institutions Act) to encourage
the inclusion of water and sanitation programs as a critical
element of their development assistance.
SEC. 10. REPORT REGARDING WATER FOR PEACE AND SECURITY.
(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
United States programs to support and encourage efforts
around the world to develop river basin, aquifer, and other
watershed-wide mechanisms for governance and cooperation are
critical components of long-term United States national
security and should be expanded.
(b) Report.--The Secretary of State, in consultation with
the Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development, shall submit to the Committee on
International Relations of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report on
efforts that the United States is making to support and
promote programs that develop river basin, aquifer, and other
watershed-wide mechanisms for governance and cooperation.
SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated
for fiscal year 2006 and each subsequent fiscal year such
sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act and the
amendments made by this Act.
(b) Other Amounts.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the
authorization of appropriations in subsection (a) shall be in
addition to the amounts otherwise available to carry out this
Act and the amendments made by this Act.
(c) Availability.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the
authorization of appropriations under section (a) are
authorized to remain available until expended.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Poe) and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe).
General Leave
Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on H.R. 1973.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, water-related illnesses claim the life of one child
approximately every 8 to 15 seconds, killing an average of 3,000 to
5,000 children a day, and up to 5 million people annually. Mr. Speaker,
the statistics are staggering. Approximately 1.1 billion people do not
have access to safe water and 2.6 billion people lack access to basic
sanitation.
According to the United Nations Task Force on Water and Sanitation,
more than half the people in the developing world are suffering from
one or more of the main diseases associated with inadequate provision
of water supply and sanitation. These numbers, Mr. Speaker, indicate a
humanitarian catastrophe that places global development and human
security in peril.
Acknowledging the linkages between access to safe water and
sanitation and
[[Page H9706]]
other development sectors, the administration has taken some noteworthy
actions in response to these challenges.
{time} 1430
The Water for the Poor and Clean Water for People are initiatives
totaling almost $1.5 billion combined. However, more needs to be done.
Currently, improving access to safe water and sanitation is not a
stated priority of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. In addition, the
geographical distribution of funding for water programs does not
correspond to the level of need for safe water and sanitation in
particular countries.
Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment to thank the gentleman from
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for his leadership in confronting global water
challenges by introducing H.R. 1973. Specifically, this measure makes
access to safe water and sanitation for developing countries a specific
policy objective of the United States foreign assistance programs. I am
proud of the strong bipartisan cooperation reflected in the amended
version of H.R. 1973 that we are discussing here today. I am confident
that the changes made to the original text will greatly improve the
coordination, quality, and effectiveness of U.S. foreign programs for
water and sanitation.
I am also pleased that we have the chance to give recognition to the
selfless work of a great public servant through the passage of this
act. The late Senator Paul Simon of Illinois played a significant role
in drawing the attention of the chairman and that of members of the
House International Relations Committee to this issue. The United
States Congress recognizes the valuable contributions made by Senator
Simon in his book entitled, ``Tapped Out: The Coming World Crisis in
Water Scarcity and What We Can Do About It.''
Senator Simon spent much of his life working to garner political
support toward finding solutions to global water challenges. We hope
that today his memory will be respectfully and appropriately honored
and served through the passage of this act. The Senator Paul Simon
Water For the Poor Act of 2005 authorizes assistance to promote
increased access to safe water and sanitation for vulnerable
populations in developing countries in an affordable and equitable way.
H.R. 1973 amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 by broadening the
areas of development assistance objectives to include improved access
to safe water and sanitation.
This act requires the Secretary of State to develop a strategy in
consultation with the administrator of the U.S. Agency for
International Development to carry out this objective. The strategy
called for in this important legislation requires the Secretary of
State to assess the adequacy of current activities, define measurable
objectives as stipulated by this legislation and assess the level of
funding needed to meet them, and improve the coordination and
integration of water and sanitation programs provided by the United
States with the water and sanitation assistance programs of other donor
countries and institutions.
Also, this act requires the designation of high-priority countries in
which the need for increased access to safe water and sanitation is
greatest. This is critical to making sure that assistance is being
targeted to reach those who are most in need.
H.R. 1973 recognizes the impact that lack of access to safe water and
sanitation can have on peace and security. Over 260 river basins are
shared by two or more countries. Water scarcity can sometimes further
complicate longstanding conflicts. This is especially true in the
Middle East where nations vie for control over water resources. This
legislation will contribute to United States national security by
supporting programs that foster cooperation over shared water
resources, including river basins and aquifers.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1973 is an important step in defining a clear and
coherent United States international water policy. This legislation
will save lives and improve the quality of living for billions of
people throughout the world.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly support the passage of H.R. 1973, the Senator
Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005, and look forward to its
immediate passage in the Senate where Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist
has introduced similar legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I appreciate the strong and eloquent statement of my friend from
Texas, his support for this legislation and over 100 of our colleagues
on bipartisan legislation that seeks to make a difference, as my friend
said. I would like to express my deep appreciation for Chairman Hyde's
hard work and passion on this item that has helped us get to this point
today.
This legislation may be coming up under suspension of the rules, but
for over 2 billion people around the world without access to safe
drinking water and basic sanitation, nothing could be more important
for us to discuss here today. This is an opportunity for the House of
Representatives to exert leadership on this too-often-overlooked, but
critical, issue. Headlines today are devoted to the potential for a
pandemic dealing with bird flu, and rightly so. But here and now, lack
of access to water and sanitation is the number one killer around the
world. We may take safe drinking water and sanitation for granted, but
such is not the case for these hundreds of millions of people.
As my colleague said a moment ago, every 7 to 15 seconds, a child
dies unnecessarily from waterborne disease. In the course of our brief
discussion today, over 100 children will die unnecessarily. As a result
of lack of access to safe drinking water, half the people in the world
today who are sick, are sick unnecessarily because of this simple
problem. This bill is an opportunity, not to create vast new programs
and bet on new technology, but to refocus our foreign assistance
efforts on a comprehensive, strategic series of investments. There are
simple common-sense steps the world fully understands which will make a
difference in people's lives, help transform their communities while
building real local capacity for sustainable development.
Water and sanitation is crucial because it is a necessary part of
every one of our foreign assistance objectives. Access to water
empowers women and girls who in many places are unable to get an
education or hold a job because they have to spend hours walking to
fetch water for their families. They are at risk in many places of
attack as they leave the village in search of safe water, and hours of
dangerous toil means school is less likely or even impossible.
Safe water and sanitation makes people healthier and, therefore, more
economically productive. Studies show at any given time the fact that
half the people in the developing world being sick from water-related
diseases, especially chronic diarrhea, saps their capacity to be
economically productive.
We find that the economic benefits of investing in safe drinking
water and sanitation is dramatic, up to $34 in increased economic
productivity for every dollar invested. Poor countries with access to
improved water and sanitation have enjoyed annual growth rates in their
gross domestic product of 3.7 percent, while those without adequate
investment saw their GDP grow at just one-tenth of 1 percent, almost 40
times greater for those with the adequate investment.
Poor people are already investing vast sums of money on unsafe water
and access to water that comes via trucks. Investing in real water
delivery systems will actually free up money for poor people to invest
in their basic needs. There are even opportunities for microenterprise.
In this way, these water investments can work the same as microfinance
and debt relief combined.
Increasing access to safe drinking water and sanitation helps protect
the environment, and not just for poor people in developing countries.
Improving sanitation helps keep raw sewage from flowing into rivers and
water sources. Protecting these natural resources helps keep water
supplies clean and people healthier all around the world.
Safe water projects can empower communities, supporting them on their
way to self-sufficiency. It builds the capacity for communities to
design, build and maintain not just their water and sanitation systems;
it can provide an inclusive process to bring together
[[Page H9707]]
their governments with their citizens, the components of civil society
to develop the needs for democracy and good government.
As my friend alluded to, water can help prevent conflict and violence
as, across the world, efforts to cooperate over shared water resources
can serve as an incentive to limit conflict and a starting point for
efforts to resolve conflict.
Finally, the Copenhagen Consensus group of economists, a group that,
frankly, is skeptical of much foreign aid, rates the investments in
water and sanitation as some of the best and most effective investments
in development, growth, and ending poverty. This is not an investment
that is going to end up in some thug's Swiss bank account. It puts
local people to work while it saves their children's lives.
The scope and immediacy of this crisis in water and sanitation around
the world was center stage when I and a number of my colleagues from
the House attended the World Summit on Sustainable Development in
Johannesburg, South Africa in 2002. There, while we were debating water
and its role in sustainability, we were able to visit some of the
desperately poor instant slums that had sprung up around Johannesburg.
We saw firsthand the need for water and sanitation being at the
forefront of those people's needs and, again, examples of cost-
effective mechanisms that made a difference. I think that was one of
the reasons why the United States and 185 other countries committed to
cutting in half the number of people in the world without access to
safe drinking water and sanitation by 2015.
The cost of meeting this goal is not an investment that is beyond our
capacity. It is less than Europeans spend on perfume each year or that
Americans spend on elective cosmetic surgery. In order to put it in
perspective, it is less than the cost of one takeout pizza per American
family per year that will enable us to transform people's lives.
Unfortunately, despite our good work, despite the consensus in 2002,
despite the growing awareness of this problem, the world is not yet on
track to meet that goal.
{time} 1445
The United States has not yet developed a comprehensive strategy to
make that happen. It is not that we are unaware or that we are on the
sidelines. We are spending a huge amount of money already, and the
House just approved doubling our current investment in aid last week.
We have a wide variety of programs across the whole of the Federal
Government. There are programs in the Department of Agriculture, the
Department of Defense, Interior, State, the African Development
Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Agency For
International Development, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency,
Centers For Disease Control, the Export-Import Bank, the InterAmerican
Foundation, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the Peace
Corps, EPA, all have pieces of this puzzle. The problem is we have not
brought them together in a comprehensive and thoughtful fashion. There
is not enough coordination and strategic planning among the various
programs.
Our current efforts are focused almost entirely on a very few places,
most of the investment to be found in Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, the
West Bank, and Gaza. I am not going to suggest at all that those
investments are not worthwhile and important, but it is time that we
refocus our efforts to make sure that we pay attention to areas of
greatest need. For example, the lowest percentage of access to water
and sanitation is in sub-Saharan Africa, and it gets only $7 million a
year. The largest number of people without this access are in South and
East Asia.
This legislation helps us take these many programs, give them the
coordination and direction they need to make a difference.
The Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act establishes improving
affordable and equitable access to water and sanitation as a major
objective of our foreign policy. It directs the Secretary of State to
develop a strategy with specific timetables, benchmarks and goals to
bring together this vast array of programs that I mentioned to
integrate water and sanitation into our development efforts and to meet
our commitment that the United States and over 180 other countries made
in Johannesburg.
It will ensure that water and sanitation is focused on the places
with the greatest need, including efforts on building developing world
capacity so that they do not remain dependent on our assistance over
time. And it sets policy to assure that our assistance is as cost
effective as it can be. That is one of the elements that came forward
in our hearings. In talking to faith-based and other nongovernmental
organizations, we learn there are a vast array of cost-effective
mechanisms that will make a difference and will do it quickly.
I would also note that this bill would establish one of the
Millennium Development Goals in U.S. law for the first time. This would
be regarded as a very positive development around the world. Our
efforts in this legislation are designed to provide our government,
recipient governments and all their private-sector and NGO partners
with the necessary tools and flexibility to increase access to safe
drinking water and sanitation in an affordable and equitable way. It is
the result of a long process that has included input from Members on
both sides of the aisle, from NGOs, from faith-based organizations,
environmental groups, engineering firms, water-related businesses, from
the administration.
I am pleased and proud that our committee has been inclusive and
thoughtful in bringing this together. I think it has the potential not
just in healing some of the poorest countries around the world, but I
think it is an example of the bipartisan cooperation that Members here
are interested in.
As my colleague from Texas pointed out, this is a priority of Senate
Majority Leader Bill Frist. He has introduced legislation, along with
the Democratic Leader Harry Reid. There is an opportunity here for the
two Chambers to come together quickly to be able to put legislation on
the President's desk before we adjourn this year, and it will have an
impact that will be felt, as they say, around the world.
I have mentioned the support, leadership, and passion of our
chairman, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde). I appreciate ranking
Democrat, the gentleman from California's (Mr. Lantos) advice and
counsel to me as I have been developing this legislation and moving it
forward.
There are key staff members here: Lara Alameh, who has spent
countless hours for the majority working with the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Hyde), moving this legislation forward, and I appreciate
her personal commitment and engagement; Robin Roizman from the
gentleman from California's (Mr. Lantos) staff; my friend and
colleague, Judah Ariel, who has made this a critical part of his role
in our office. I appreciate the people behind the scenes who have
worked hard to give us a piece of legislation that we can move forward
with confidence and expedition.
Finally, I am pleased that the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde)
actually had the idea, I am sorry that I did not name this legislation
after Senator Paul Simon. Senator Simon gave me a copy of his book
``Tapped Out'' on his last visit to Oregon, something that I cherish.
And he was the type of bipartisan, thoughtful, results-oriented
legislator that we all should want to emulate. This legislation will be
a fitting memorial to his memory. I appreciate what has brought us to
this day.
Mr. Speaker, I will submit in the Record an expanded list of the
groups and organizations who have made the legislation possible, who
have worked with the staff, who have worked to refine it, and who are
raising the public awareness.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that we have reached this point today. I am
pleased that in the last week I think it is safe to say there has been
more attention spent on Capitol Hill on providing safe drinking water
for the poor than there has probably been in years. I think it is time
well spent. This legislation will move us in that direction, and I am
pleased that we have it here before us today.
I would also like to thank the following groups for their support and
assistance:
Mercy Corps, Water Advocates, Millennium Water Alliance, National
Wildlife Federation,
[[Page H9708]]
the Environmental Change and Security Program at the Woodrow Wilson
International Center for Scholars, US Fund for UNICEF, Engineers
Without Borders, National Audubon Society, American Council of
Engineering Companies, Water Environment Federation, Water for People,
American Council of Engineering Companies, Nature Conservancy, Public
Citizen, American Refugee Committee, CARE USA, Food for the Hungry, the
Institute for Sustainable Communities, Lifewater International, Oxfam
America, Population Action International, Sister Cities International,
WaterAid America, Waterlines, WaterPartners International, The Nature
Conservancy, US-India PAC, Citizens for Global Solutions, and the
Institute for MultiTrack Diplomacy.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1973, the Senator
Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005.
I want to congratulate my colleague, Mr. Blumenauer for bringing this
bill to the floor today, and I want to thank Chairman Hyde and the
Ranking Member for their support of this important legislation
Mr. Speaker, it is a sad fact that here in the United States many of
us take clean, plentiful water for granted. According to the
Environmental Protection Agency, we use on average about 90 gallons of
water per person per day. We expect it to be immediately available for
us to drink, to cook with, to shower, to wash our cars, to water our
lawns, to fill our swimming pools, and to flush our toilets. Most of
this water is needlessly wasted, and we must do more to reduce our
usage. But for most people in the developing world, clean water is a
precious commodity not to be wasted.
In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, the average person uses 3-5 gallons of
water per day. That's why this bill is so important.
As a co-sponsor of H.R. 1973, I am a strong believer in providing
clean water and sanitation systems for developing countries to protect
public health and reduce the spread of water borne diseases.
According to a recent report by the United Nation's Children's Fund
and the World Health Organization, 1.1 billion people worldwide still
lack safe water and 2.6 billion have no sanitation. In Africa, only 58
percent of Africans live within 30 minutes walk of an improved water
source and only 36 percent have access to a basic toilet.
In rural Africa, 19 percent of women spend more than one hour on each
trip to fetch water, a back breaking and exhausting chore that often
puts them at risk of abduction or rape, and robs them of other
opportunities to work and learn.
Unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene habits play a
major role in Africa's high child mortality rate. Each year, diarrhea
kills over 700,000 children throughout the continent, and contributes
to the problem of chronic malnutrition. Access to clean water is
literally a life or death issue for many Africans.
By passing this bill today, we can take a significant step forward to
improve access to clean water throughout Africa and the developing
world. I want to again thank Mr. Blumenauer for his work on this bill,
and for working with me to ensure that we receive appropriate reporting
on the balance of funding going to urban, rural, and peri-urban
communities.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill and send it to the other
body for its swift approval.
Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1973,
the Water for the Poor Act of 2005, a much needed statement of
Congress' concern for one of the world's most fundamental problems.
Mr. Speaker, according to the World Health Organization, one billion
people around the world live without access to clean water, and 2.6
billion--40 percent of the world's population--cannot access basic
sanitation. While the front pages of our newspapers recount the horrors
of conflict and displacement and the risk of potential influenza
pandemic, the silent epidemic of waterborne illness continues to sicken
and kill around the world. Most of us here take having an unlimited
supply of clean water for granted, but for billions of people the
everyday question of water access means the difference between hope and
misery, and even life and death.
If we make the commitment to help more people around the world gain
access to potable water, we can help societies become more productive
by making them healthier. We can ensure the education of more girls who
had previously spent hours a day carrying water. And we can save the
lives of children who would have died of easily preventable diseases
before maturity.
Mr. Speaker, it is also important to point out in this context that
some people struggle to access water right here in the United States.
In my district of EI Paso, Texas and along the entire United States-
Mexico border, unincorporated and under-served settlements called
colonias regularly lack access to clean and affordable water. As we
pass H.R. 1973 today, I want to remind my colleagues that we must
continue funding North American Development Bank programs, such as the
Border Environment Infrastructure Fund (BEIF), that help finance
essential services infrastructure on both sides of the border.
Mr. Speaker, I ask that all of my colleagues join me in supporting
this important legislation.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I commend my good friend and distinguished
colleague, Congressman Earl Blumenauer, for his leadership on this
critically important bill, of which I am proudly an original cosponsor.
I would also like to commend my dear colleague and friend, Henry
Hyde, Chairman of the House International Relations Committee, for his
help in bringing the bill to the floor expeditiously.
Mr. Speaker, the entire world has witnessed time and again the
unimaginable devastation that humanitarian disasters, such as
Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma and the Pakistani earthquake, can wreak.
They leave hundreds of thousands homeless and hungry, their lives in
danger from water-borne diseases because of unsafe water and
sanitation.
Unsafe water and poor sanitation are appallingly common in the
developing world. Each year, more than 3 billion people suffer from
water-related diseases, from which 3 to 4 million die--and most victims
are children under five.
The Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act seeks to address the
1.1 billion people lacking access to safe drinking water and the almost
2\1/2\ billion who have no access to basic sanitation. The legislation
directs the Administration to make expanding access to safe water and
sanitation a major policy objective in U.S. development efforts.
The bill authorizes new programs to make this policy a reality,
including expanding affordable and equitable access to safe water and
sanitation and improving the capacity of national and local governments
and communities to effectively address their water and sanitation
needs.
The bill also authorizes the Secretary of State to develop and
implement a safe water and sanitation strategy, including the
designation of high priority countries with the greatest water and
sanitation needs. Finally, it urges the Administration to expand
programs that promote trans-boundary cooperation on water issues.
Mr. Speaker, at nearly every meal, we think nothing of lifting a
glass of cool drinking water and hardly notice its cooling effects.
Unfortunately, our blessings are not shared by billions of our fellow
human beings. In the interest of stability worldwide and in keeping
with our core humanitarian values, the United States must do all within
our power to ensure that people everywhere have access to safe water
and sanitation.
I urge all my colleagues to support this critical legislation.
Ms. EDDIE BERNICE-JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to
express my support for H.R. 1973. I want to commend the gentleman from
Oregon for introducing this noteworthy piece of legislation, as it
addresses one of the earth's most precious resources--water.
Water is essential for life. It is crucial for sustainable
development, the preservation of our natural environment, and the
alleviation of poverty and hunger. Water is indispensable for human
health and well being.
Arguably one of the most underappreciated challenges facing humanity
today is: the availability of clean, fresh water and adequate
sanitation infrastructure.
It is practical to intertwine sanitation with water supply. In many
instances, clean drinking water supplies cannot be secured without
adequate attention to sanitation, as waste disposal remains one of the
most serious sources of drinking water contamination.
A lack of fresh water and sanitation infrastructure create ideal
conditions under which various water-borne diseases thrive. Water and
sanitation-related diseases remain among the biggest killers,
particularly among children. Across the globe, many millions of
children die every year from water-borne diseases.
The poor are more vulnerable to ill-health than are the well-off.
They lack adequate supplies of safe water and safe methods of waste
disposal. Study after study has shown that when a community improves
its water supply, hygiene and/or sanitation then health improves. Yet
unfortunately, statistics reflect a terrible story.
According to the World Health Organization, forty percent of the
world's 6 billion people have no acceptable means of sanitation, and
more than 1 billion people draw their water from unsafe sources.
As an industrialized nation, the United States must be a leader in
addressing this challenge. H.R. 1973 makes the provision of safe water
and sanitation a stated goal of U.S. foreign assistance policy. It
lends a practical hand to human development and dignity. This is a
noble effort, and I proudly support it.
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today In support of H.R. 1973,
the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act. And I want to thank my
colleague, the author of this
[[Page H9709]]
legislation, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for his
leadership on this critical issue and for doing great honor to the name
of one of my dear departed friends. The late Senator Paul Simon, my
friend from Illinois, was one of our strongest proponents of the need
for U.S. leadership in addressing the global water crisis. He
considered his book on this topic, Tapped Out, one of the most
important works of his life. Senator Simon stated: ``In our world
increasing numbers of people cannot assume they will be nourished and
sustained, and within a few years, a water crisis of catastrophic
proportions will explode on us--unless aroused citizens in this and
other nations demand of their leadership actions reflecting vision,
understanding, and courage.''
If Senator Simon were with us today he would certainly point out the
fact that globally, over 1 billion people lack adequate access to safe
drinking water and over 2 billion have no access to proper sanitation.
Five million people, mostly children, die unnecessarily from water-
related diseases each year. This is not just a problem that affects
other countries. Three of our fastest growing states--California,
Texas, and Florida--are feeling the squeeze on water supplies and will
soon face major difficulties unless we take action now. In Illinois and
the other Great Lakes states, we are faced with challenging resource
management issues as we seek to preserve and protect our nation's
largest fresh water supply and the largest free-flowing supply of fresh
water on earth.
Mr. Speaker, it is in Senator Simon's memory and because of the
urgency of this issue, that I support the Water for the Poor Act. As
Senator Simon wrote, ``No other nation has the capabilities and
resources to lead.'' Because water is a finite resource that is
essential to all forms oflife, u.S. policies should seek to ensure that
all people have access to clean water to meet their basic needs.
Senator Simon's wife Patty Simon is working hard to carry on his legacy
and this critically important mission and each member of this body
should join in that critically important effort.
The Water for the Poor Act will help to increase access to safe water
and sanitation worldwide in an affordable and equitable way. It
expresses the policy that the United States needs to increase the
amount of funds available for water and sanitation, supports innovative
funding mechanisms, greater international coordination, and better
integration of water and sanitation into other development efforts.
Finally, it requires the development of a strategy to meet specific
goals and benchmarks on the way to halving the percentage of people
without access to safe water and sanitation.
At the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg,
the United States and 185 other countries agreed to the goal of cutting
in half the percentage of people without access to safe water and basic
sanitation in the world by 2015. The United States should lead in
meeting and exceeding that goal. The Senator Paul Simon Water for the
Poor Act is the best first step in that direction. I, again, thank and
commend my colleague and all of the cosponsors of this important
legislation. And I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 1973.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Oregon (Mr.
Blumenauer) for sponsoring this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Stearns). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) that the House suspend
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1973, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of
those present have voted in the affirmative.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will
be postponed.
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