[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.

[[Page H9704]]

       (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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