[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 156 (Monday, October 26, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H11741]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          H.R. 3202, THE WATER PROTECTION AND REINVESTMENT ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
  The United States is facing a challenge today in terms of fraying 
infrastructure from coast to coast. The need to rebuild and renew 
America has never been more critical; not only to strengthen our 
economy, to protect our health, to reduce global warming, it's 
important for our national and international competitiveness.
  Mr. Speaker, nowhere is this more important than dealing with long-
neglected water infrastructure, because as bad as things are on the 
surface with problems with our electrical grid, crumbling roads and 
bridges in poor repair, what is under the surface is an even worse 
condition. We have 72,000 miles of sewer pipe and water main that are 
over 80 years of age. Every year there are almost a quarter million 
water main breaks which cause everything from traffic jams to supply 
disruptions. Who can forget a few months ago when a main broke on River 
Road here in metropolitan Washington and they had to send in a 
helicopter to rescue a stranded motorist?
  Water infrastructure problems result in 1.3 million cases of 
waterborne disease each year, while sewer overflows during rainstorms 
send raw sewage into our oceans, our bays and our rivers, resulting in 
an estimated 1.8 to 3.5 million illnesses. The Environmental Protection 
Agency estimates that there is a $534 billion gap between our current 
water investment and the projected needs over the next 20 years, just 
for water and wastewater.
  To deal with that, Mr. Speaker, I have introduced the Water 
Protection and Reinvestment Act, H.R. 3202. At a time of economic 
problems for our country, this bill will create between 200,000 and 
267,000 new jobs in engineering, construction and related industries. 
The bill is deficit neutral, attaching small fees to those activities 
and industries that benefit from clean water or who complicate our need 
to purify water. It will raise $10 billion in a deficit neutral way.
  Because of the need and because of the focused solution of this 
legislation, H.R. 3202 is supported by a broad cross-section of 
stakeholders. There are already 19 bipartisan Members of Congress who 
have signed on, but we have the Associated General Contractors, the 
American Society of Civil Engineers, the International Union of 
Operating Engineers, the National Utility Contractors Association as 
just some in the private sector. We have water utilities and government 
officials, from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, the 
American Public Works Association, the Association of Floodplain 
Managers. And we have public interest groups, like American Rivers, the 
Rural Community Assistance Partnership, the Clean Water Network and the 
Alliance for Water Efficiency.
  Mr. Speaker, by providing this funding through existing State 
revolving funds, money will be equitably distributed to all States. We 
have special provisions to ensure that small rural communities and 
large urban areas get funding specific to their needs. We can't afford 
to leave anyone or any community out.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to reflect on what we have here in our 
community in Washington, D.C., and back home in our own districts. Too 
many of these systems rely on brick and water sewers that date back 
decades; in some cases centuries. The economy cannot stand it, the 
health of our communities cannot put up with this neglect, and frankly 
the pressure on local taxpayers and ratepayers is such that they need 
and deserve our help.
  I strongly urge that my colleagues who haven't yet examined this 
legislation do so, and that they join the bipartisan support for H.R. 
3202, the Water Protection and Reinvestment Act.

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