[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 149 (Tuesday, December 9, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H8870-H8871]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   PAUL SIMON WATER FOR THE WORLD ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, by unanimous consent motion 
offered by my friend, and the bill's Republican lead, Ted Poe, the 
House passed H.R. 2901, our Paul Simon Water for the World Act. It was 
almost anticlimactic, considering all the ins and outs it has taken for 
years to be able to hammer out the details necessary to take the next 
step in reform.
  The hard work was all worth it, enhancing our efforts to have the 
United States embrace its responsibility to help the world deal with 
our water and sanitation crisis. Make no mistake about it; it is a 
crisis.
  Today 152 million hours will be spent by women and girls to get 
water--often dirty, polluted water--to meet the basic needs of their 
families. Almost three-quarter billion people still lack access to this 
fundamental necessity of life.
  There is an even greater crisis with inadequate sanitation. There are 
approximately 2.5 billion people who suffer from this lack of what most 
of us take for granted. It results in horrific disease, stunted growth, 
and malnutrition. In fact, the children under 5 who are malnourished in 
India are suffering less from a lack of food and more from the diseases 
produced by poor sanitation. The children who do survive are left with 
mental and physical burdens for their entire life.
  In a world where there are more cell phones than toilets, this is 
something that we can do something about. It is seriously out of 
kilter. The world knows what to do, and we can afford a solution. The 
enactment of the Water for the World legislation moves us in that 
direction by focusing the United States' efforts on things that will 
work, areas of the world most in need, and making sure our solutions 
are sustainable.
  I deeply appreciate the leadership of my friend, colleague, and 
principle cosponsor of the bill, Ted Poe, who has been tireless in his 
efforts; the work of Chairman Royce and the Foreign Affairs Committee; 
our partners in the other body, Senators Dick Durbin and Bob Corker; 
and, of course, dozens of nongovernmental organizations that have been 
at work around the globe making progress while they have been 
unrelenting advocates here at home.
  I must also acknowledge the tireless efforts of my legislative 
director, Michael Harold, who has done as much as any human alive to 
get this across the finish line.
  Mr. Speaker, this is an amazing and important accomplishment, but it 
makes me pause. What else could we do in the spirit of bipartisan 
cooperation and doing what is right?
  Might it be possible to take a small step, show a little courage, and 
embrace what Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill could do over 30 years ago? 
President Reagan used his radio address on Thanksgiving 1982 to provide 
leadership to more than double the gas tax, which he correctly pointed 
out was really a user fee and which had not increased in 23 years while 
roads were falling apart.
  Well, the current gas tax has not been increased in almost 22 years, 
and America is falling apart and falling behind. The highway trust fund 
is going bankrupt. Everyone acknowledges an increase is long overdue. 
With gasoline prices falling dramatically, seemingly every week, and 
expected to continue doing so well into the foreseeable future, a 
nickel a gallon per year is hardly going to be noticed.
  But as President Reagan pointed out, people will directly benefit. 
Today poor road maintenance costs the typical family $377 per year in 
damage to their cars, far more than they would pay in a small increase 
in the gas tax. Millions of hours and billions of dollars are wasted 
due to highway congestion.
  So let's square our shoulders. Let's show some backbone and vision 
and take another step forward. Let's raise the user fee we call the gas 
tax, put hundreds of thousands of people to work all across America at 
family wage jobs, and renew and rebuild this great country. This would 
be a nice

[[Page H8871]]

Christmas present that Americans will enjoy for years to come.

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