[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 23078]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            WATER OBJECTIVES

  (Mr. BLUMENAUER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, the turmoil surrounding the Katrina 
aftermath and some of the winds of change here in Washington, DC, 
obscures the fact that every 15 seconds a child dies needlessly and 
hundreds of millions of people worldwide are sick from waterborne 
diseases. But a small bright spot is emerging for the United States 
leadership potential on this issue. I commend Senator Frist for his 
personal concern and leadership in the other body and bipartisan 
legislation co-sponsored by Democratic leader Senator Reed. In the 
foreign ops bill there is $200 million in the Senate version dedicated 
for water objectives, a significant increase given that we are 
currently only spending $8 million in the entire continent of Africa.
  We await floor action on our bill out of the House International 
Relations Committee, the Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act, where 
Congress can act to pull together the pieces for a global water 
strategy. It is easily within our power to meet our commitments to 
extend safe drinking water and sanitation to over a billion people in 
need.

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