[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 49 (Monday, March 23, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S3617]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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 SENATE RESOLUTION 81--SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF WORLD WATER 
                                  DAY

  Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mr. Kerry) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                               S. Res. 81

       Whereas the United Nations General Assembly, by resolution, 
     has designated March 22 of each year as ``World Water Day'';
       Whereas a person needs 4 to 5 liters of water per day to 
     survive;
       Whereas a person can live weeks without food, but only days 
     without water;
       Whereas every 15 seconds a child dies from a water-borne 
     disease;
       Whereas, for children under age 5, water-borne diseases are 
     the leading cause of death;
       Whereas millions of women and children already spend 
     several hours a day collecting water from distant, often 
     polluted sources;
       Whereas every dollar spent on water and sanitation saves an 
     average of $9 in costs averted and productivity gained;
       Whereas, at any given time, \1/2\ of the hospital beds in 
     the world are occupied by patients suffering from a water-
     borne disease;
       Whereas 88 percent of all diseases are caused by unsafe 
     drinking water, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene;
       Whereas 1,100,000,000 (1 in 6) people lack access to an 
     improved water supply;
       Whereas 2,600,000,000 people in the world lack access to 
     improved sanitation;
       Whereas the 263 transboundary lake and river basins in the 
     world are part of the territory of 145 countries and cover 
     nearly \1/2\ of the land surface of the Earth;
       Whereas climate change may cause more extreme floods and 
     droughts, increasing political tension and the potential for 
     clashes over transboundary fresh water resources;
       Whereas the global celebration of World Water Day is an 
     initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations 
     Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro;
       Whereas the participants in the 2002 World Summit on 
     Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, including the United 
     States, agreed to the Plan of Implementation which included 
     an agreement to work to reduce by \1/2\ from the baseline 
     year 1990 ``the proportion of people who are unable to reach 
     or to afford safe drinking water'', ``and the proportion of 
     people without access to basic sanitation'' by 2015; and
       Whereas Congress passed and the President signed into law 
     the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 (Public 
     Law 109-121), which was intended to ``elevate the role of 
     water and sanitation policy in the development of U.S. 
     foreign policy and improve the effectiveness of U.S. official 
     programs'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) supports the goals and ideals of World Water Day;
       (2) urges an increased effort and the investment of greater 
     resources by the Department of State, the United States 
     Agency for International Development, and all relevant 
     Federal departments and agencies toward providing sustainable 
     and equitable access to safe drinking water and sanitation 
     for the poor and the very poor; and
       (3) encourages the people of the United States to observe 
     the week of World Water Day with appropriate activities that 
     promote awareness of the importance of--
       (A) access to clean water; and
       (B) cooperation between stakeholders in transboundary water 
     management.

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to submit a resolution 
supporting the ideals and goals of World Water Day. I am pleased to 
have my colleague Senator John Kerry joining me as the cosponsor of 
this resolution.
  March 22 was established as World Water Day by the United Nations 
General Assembly to promote awareness of the importance of access to 
clean water and improved sanitation. More than one billion people lack 
access to an improved water supply and 2.6 billion people lack access 
to improved sanitation.
  This year's theme, ``Shared Water--Shared Opportunities,'' highlights 
opportunities to build trust among countries as they manage their 
common water resources in ways that promote sustainable economic 
growth. In the U.S. half of the States border shared waters, and there 
are growing pressures on the environmental quality and use of these 
waters.
  To recognize World Water Day, activities are planned internationally 
and here in the U.S. Many cities are sponsoring World Water Day benefit 
walks, runs and musical celebrations. I urge citizens to participate in 
these activities and recognize this important day.
  In 2000, the United Nations adopted a goal to reduce by half the 
proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water 
and basic sanitation by 2015. We have made some progress toward that 
goal, but more needs to be done. Each day millions of women and girls 
still spend hours traveling miles to transport water to their homes. In 
many cases, the source is polluted, leading to disease for them and 
other members of their families.
  The Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 provided for 
U.S. assistance in developing countries to provide equal and affordable 
access to clean and safe water and sanitation. This access is important 
to U.S. foreign policy interests, and, more important, is a basic human 
right.

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