[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12004-12007]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF SANITATION

  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 318) supporting the goals and 
ideals of the International Year of Sanitation, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
  The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 318

       Whereas, in 2000, the United States, along with other world 
     leaders, at the 55th United Nations General Assembly, 
     committed to achieving the Millennium Development Goals which 
     provide a framework for countries and international 
     organizations to combat such global social ills as poverty, 
     hunger, and disease;
       Whereas one target of the Millennium Development Goals is 
     to halve by 2015 the proportion of people without access to 
     safe drinking water and basic sanitation, the only target to 
     be codified into United States law in the Senator Paul Simon 
     Water for the Poor Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-121);
       Whereas the lack of access to safe water and sanitation is 
     one of the most pressing environmental public health issues 
     in the world;
       Whereas over 1,000,000,000 people live without potable 
     water and an estimated 2,600,000,000 people do not have 
     access to basic sanitation facilities, which includes 
     980,000,000 children;
       Whereas every 20 seconds a child dies as a direct result of 
     a lack of access to basic sanitation facilities;
       Whereas only 36 percent of sub-Saharan Africa and 37 
     percent of South Asia have access to safe drinking water and 
     sanitation, the lowest rates in the world;
       Whereas at any one time almost half of the developing 
     world's people are suffering from diseases associated with 
     lack of water, sanitation, and hygiene;
       Whereas improved sanitation decreases the incidences of 
     debilitating and deadly maladies such as cholera, intestinal 
     worms, diarrhea, pneumonia, dysentery, and skin infections;
       Whereas sanitation is the foundation of health, dignity, 
     and development;
       Whereas increased sanitation is fundamental for reaching 
     all of the Millennium Development Goals;
       Whereas access to basic sanitation helps economic and 
     social development in countries where poor sanitation is a 
     major cause of lost work and school days because of illness;
       Whereas sanitation in schools enables children, 
     particularly girls reaching puberty, to remain in the 
     educational system;
       Whereas according to the World Health Organization, every 
     dollar spent on proper sanitation by governments generates an 
     average of $7 in economic benefit;
       Whereas improved disposal of human waste protects the 
     quality of water sources used for drinking, preparation of 
     food, agriculture, and bathing;
       Whereas, in 2006, the United Nations, at the 61st Session 
     of the General Assembly, declared 2008 as the International 
     Year of Sanitation to recognize the progress made in 
     achieving the global sanitation target detailed in the 
     Millennium Development Goals, as well as to call upon all 
     Member States, United Nations agencies, regional and 
     international organizations, civil society organizations, and 
     other relevant stakeholders to renew their commitment to 
     attaining that target;
       Whereas the official launching of the International Year of 
     Sanitation at the United Nations was on November 21, 2007; 
     and
       Whereas the thrust of the International Year of Sanitation 
     has three parts, including--
       (1) raising awareness of the importance of sanitation and 
     its impact on reaching other Millennium Development Goals;
       (2) encouraging governments and their partners to promote 
     and implement policies and actions for meeting the sanitation 
     target; and
       (3) mobilizing communities, particularly women's groups, 
     towards changing sanitation and hygiene practices through 
     sanitation health education campaigns: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That the Congress--
       (1) supports the goals and ideals of the International Year 
     of Sanitation;
       (2) recognizes the importance of sanitation on public 
     health, poverty reduction, economic and social development, 
     and the environment; and
       (3) encourages the people of the United States to observe 
     the International Year of Sanitation with appropriate 
     recognition, ceremonies, activities, and programs to 
     demonstrate the importance of sanitation and hygiene in 
     achieving the Millennium Development Goals, and to support 
     developing countries in their efforts to achieve the 
     Millennium Development Goal target on basic sanitation among 
     populations at greatest need.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Payne) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.


                             General Leave

  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution 
and yield myself as much time as I may consume.
  First of all, I'd like to thank my colleagues on the Foreign Affairs 
Committee, Ranking Member Chris Smith and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-
Lee as well as Representative Chris Shays for being lead sponsors on 
H.Con.Res 318, which supports the United Nations Declaration of 2008 as 
the International Year of Sanitation. Their bipartisan support has 
helped to bring this resolution to the floor for a vote. I also would 
like to thank Senator Richard Durbin, who introduced the Senate 
companion to this concurrent resolution.
  In September 2000, the United Nations adopted the eight Millennium 
Development Goals to challenge the global community to reduce poverty 
and increase the health and well-being of all peoples. Two years later, 
in September of 2002, at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 
Johannesburg, the United States and the rest of the international 
community reaffirmed these goals and added access to basic sanitation 
as a centerpiece of the poverty eradication commitments. The target to 
halve the proportion of people without access to the basic sanitation 
by 2015 was defined in the Johannesburg Plan of Action.
  In September of 2005, President Bush addressed the United Nations 
General Assembly, at which time, as I was the U.S. delegate from the 
House to the United Nations, I was very pleased that President Bush 
recommitted the United States to achieving the Millennium Development 
Goals.
  Last year, the United Nations declared 2008 as the International Year 
of Sanitation in order to recognize the great strides that have been 
made towards increasing access to sanitation for people around the 
world. However, it is also a time to galvanize member nations, U.N. 
agencies, regional and international organizations, and other relevant 
stakeholders to renew their commitment.
  Access to basic sanitation is something so simple, yet so fundamental 
to everyday life. Well, simple, at least, for the majority of people 
who live in the developed world. An estimated 2.6 billion people live 
in an environment where they do not have access to proper toilet 
facilities and human waste cannot be properly disposed. And 
approximately 1.1 billion people have no access to any type of improved 
drinking sources of water. As a direct consequence, over 1.6 million 
people die every year from easily preventable diseases attributable to 
lack of access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. Ninety 
percent of those are children under five, mostly in developing 
countries.
  This lack of access to basic sanitation affects everything from how 
food is grown and prepared to the ability of girls and young women to 
attend school. Sanitation is an obvious issue of health, but also one 
of dignity, physical safety and development.

[[Page 12005]]

  Halving the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation 
is a target of the seventh Millennium Development Goal, which is to 
ensure environmental sustainability. In fact, it is vital to the 
success of other Millennium Development Goal targets in order for them 
to reach their goal.
  Access to proper sanitation is essential to reducing childhood and 
maternal mortality. It can help reduce the symptoms associated with HIV 
and AIDS. It can also improve the living conditions of 100 million-plus 
people living in slums.

                              {time}  1400

  The dividends that increased access to basic sanitation pay are 
multifold. Depending on the region of the world, economic benefits have 
been estimated to range from $3 to $34 for each dollar invested in 
access to basic sanitation and safe water. According to the United 
Nations, meeting this MDG target will yield nearly $200 billion in 
annual benefits. If we meet this goal, people and governments will save 
more than $500 million in direct health treatment costs and get back 
more than 3 billion working days that are now lost to sanitation-
related illnesses. Reducing the incidences to sanitation-related 
diseases will add nearly 200 million days of school attendance.
  As we in Congress work to increase access to lifesaving medication 
and strengthening health care infrastructures, we must remember that 
the success of such initiatives is, in part, dependent upon individuals 
having access to basic sanitation. Let us use this time to also refocus 
our efforts on strengthening one of the basic pillars upon which global 
health must stand, proper sanitation.
  I strongly support this resolution and ask that my colleagues back H. 
Con. Res. 318, which supports the ideals and goals of the International 
Year of Sanitation.
  I reserve the balance of my time, Mr. Speaker.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Concurrent Resolution 
318, authored by my good friend from New Jersey (Mr. Payne).
  Lack of access to clean drinking water and sanitation are indeed some 
of the most pressing environmental public health issues in the world. 
Today, an estimated 2.6 billion people, including almost 1 billion 
children, live without access to basic sanitation facilities. Every 20 
seconds, a child dies as a direct result.
  In fact, it is estimated that nearly half the developing world 
suffers from preventable diseases associated with the lack of access to 
clean water, sanitation and hygiene. Without sufficient access to these 
services, countries, communities and families become susceptible to and 
are often defenseless against life-threatening diseases and infections 
which perpetuate this horrible cycle of poverty.
  As this resolution notes, sanitation improves health. It saves lives. 
It protects the environment. It improves economies. And it contributes 
to human dignity and social development. It is imperative that the 
United States and the international community work together to achieve 
the goals of the Millennium Development Account and significantly 
reduce the number of people suffering from a lack of sanitation and 
clean water.
  Another pressing issue is one that underscores the potentially grave 
future that we may face if we don't immediately address rising energy 
costs and find alternative sources of energy to carry out our daily 
tasks, some critical tasks such as the energy required to filter our 
water supply. This resolution also reminds us, however, that necessity 
is the mother of invention, and that human beings have the potential to 
achieve any task necessary to improve living conditions.
  How does it remind us of this? In Africa, for example, where there 
are areas that lack consistent and dependable sources of oil to produce 
electricity, they must develop and rely on alternative methods, 
sometimes primitive ones, such as fire for boiling water to avoid 
disease. Again, in the most remote region of the world, we are thinking 
of alternative sources and alternative methods. We here must also think 
and seek alternative clean energy. Will we wait until circumstances are 
so dire that American will be forced to boil their water in their 
backyards to conserve the little energy available because we failed to 
develop alternative sources today?
  Just as we seek to foster ingenuity in the developing world to 
provide greater access to clean drinking water and basic sanitation in 
resource-poor settings, we must foster such ingenuity in our own energy 
sector.
  I thank Chairman Payne for introducing this timely resolution which 
highlights the important issues of clean water, sanitation and hygiene. 
And I urge my colleagues to fully support House Concurrent Resolution 
318.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PAYNE. I yield 3 minutes to the gentlelady from Texas, 
Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. I would like to thank the distinguished 
gentleman and the ranking member of the subcommittee and the chairman 
and the ranking member of the full committee. I would like to thank 
Chairman Payne in particular for introducing this important resolution. 
And I am very proud to cosponsor it because it is clearly a life-and-
death matter. When you talk about sanitation and the removal of waste 
and the removal of sewage, you are talking about the lives of children. 
And as the cochair of the Congressional Children's Caucus, let me 
acknowledge that the most vulnerable to unsanitary conditions are 
children. In the disease that spreads, they are, in fact, the victims.
  Global sanitation coverage has increased from 49 to 59 percent 
between 1990 and 2004. And that is, in essence, allowing over 1 billion 
people throughout the world to gain improved sanitation in the past 14 
years. Pregnant women, nursing mothers and, of course, young children 
are, in fact, the bigger victims.
  I am particularly troubled that 90 percent of these deaths that I 
have mentioned of those who died because of lack of access to safe 
drinking water and basic sanitation are children under 5, mostly in 
developing countries. As I mentioned, children are particularly hard 
hit by poor sanitation, paying a high price through missed schooling, 
disease, malnutrition and even death. An estimated 1.5 million children 
die each year due to poor sanitation, hygiene and unsafe water. UNICEF 
reports that girls are particularly vulnerable, missing out on 
schooling once they hit puberty, due to the lack of clean and safe 
latrines.
  As the world's only remaining superpower, I think it is important to 
avert this humanitarian crisis. Chairman Payne, I believe that this is 
an important, constructive way of avoiding this massive death. Simply 
put, the Millennium Development Goal on basic sanitation would avert 
470,000 deaths. And it would continue to do so. According to economic 
analysis, depending on the region of the world, economic benefits have 
been estimated to range from $3 to $34 for each dollar invested in it.
  Let me just indicate that this is common sense. It is, again, human 
dignity. And as I close, let me also add my support for H. Con. Res. 
337 honoring the Seeds of Peace. It is a program that I am very much 
aware of, having participated with the young people who have come from 
Israel and Palestine who have sat down together as teenagers and said 
we want peace. It was founded by John Wallach. Seeds of Peace initially 
brought 46 Israeli and Arab youths together. It has spread now to 
Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, the Balkans, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. 
These summer camps are enormously important. Again, the Congressional 
Children's Caucus believes that children are not only our tomorrows, 
they are our yesterdays and todays.
  And I want to thank the chairman of the subcommittee for his 
leadership in these areas. And with that I ask my colleagues to support 
H. Con. Res. 318 and as well the following bill H. Con. Res. 337. And 
again, I thank Mr. Payne for his leadership.

[[Page 12006]]

  I rise today in strong support of H. Con. Res. 318, ``supporting the 
goals and ideals of the International Year of Sanitation.'' I would 
like to thank my colleague Congressman Payne for introducing this 
important resolution, which I am proud to cosponsor, as well as the 
Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Congressman Berman, for 
his leadership in bringing this resolution to the floor today.
  Mr. Speaker, In 2007, the United Nations declared 2008 to be the 
International Year of Sanitation, to raise awareness of the importance 
of sanitation and its impact on reaching other Millennium Development 
Goals and to recognize progress made in achieving the global sanitation 
target detailed in the Millennium Development Goals. In addition, the 
International Year of Sanitation is intended to call upon all Member 
States, United Nations agencies, regional and international 
organizations, civil society organizations, and other relevant 
stakeholders to renew their commitment to attaining the target.
  As my colleagues are aware, in September 2000, the United Nations 
adopted the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that challenged 
the global community to reduce poverty and increase the health and 
well-being of all peoples. Two years later, in September 2002, at the 
World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, the United 
States and the rest of the international community reaffirmed these 
goals and added access to basic sanitation as a centerpiece of the 
poverty eradication commitments. The target to halve the proportion of 
people without access to basic sanitation by 2015 was defined in the 
Johannesburg Plan of Action.
  We have begun to make important progress. Over one billion people, 
throughout the world, have gained access to improved sanitation in the 
past 14 years. Global sanitation coverage has increased from 49 percent 
to 59 percent between 1990 and 2004. These gains represent substantial 
improvements in the quality of life and basic health for countless 
people.
  Mr. Speaker, despite the establishment of these goals, billions of 
people still lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation, and we 
are not on target to meet the Millennium Development Goal to reduce by 
half the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation by 
2015. Today, over 2.4 billion people--half the developing world--lack 
access to basic sanitation and 1.1 billion people have no access to any 
type of improved drinking source of water. As a direct consequence, 
over 1.6 million people die every year from easily preventable diseases 
attributable to lack of access to safe drinking water and basic 
sanitation.
  As Chair of the Congressional Children's Caucus, I am particularly 
troubled that 90 percent of these deaths are children under 5, mostly 
in developing countries. Children are particularly hard hit by poor 
sanitation, paying a high price through missed schooling, disease, 
malnutrition, and even death. An estimated 1.5 million children under 
five die each year due to poor sanitation, hygiene, and unsafe water.
  In addition to claiming too many young lives, poor sanitation reduces 
children's ability to grow and develop, stunting the economic and 
social development of the entire nation. UNICEF reports that girls are 
particularly vulnerable, missing out on schooling once they hit puberty 
due to the lack of clean and safe latrines.
  As the world's only remaining superpower, the United States has a 
moral obligation to take the lead in averting humanitarian catastrophe. 
Increased access to sanitation would have an enormous impact on the 
lives of people throughout the world. Simply put, meeting the 
Millennium Development Goal on basic sanitation would avert 470,000 
deaths. In addition, achieving the target would bring enormous economic 
gains. Meeting the Millennium Development Goal would result in an extra 
320 million productive working days every year, and would bring 
considerable benefits to investment. According to economic analysis, 
depending on the region of the world, economic benefits have been 
estimated to range from $3 to $34 for each dollar invested in access to 
basic sanitation and safe water.
  Mr. Speaker, even as our attention is consumed by rising food and 
fuel prices, it is vital that we do not lose focus of the equally vital 
goal of basic sanitation. The resolution that we are considering today 
recognizes the importance of sanitation on public health, poverty 
reduction, economic and social development, and the environment and 
encourages all Americans to observe the International Year of 
Sanitation with appropriate recognition, ceremonies, activities, and 
programs to demonstrate the importance of sanitation, hygiene, and 
access to safe drinking water in achieving the Millennium Development 
Goals.
  Mr. Speaker, the benefits of meeting the Millennium Development Goal 
on basic sanitation would be dramatic and global. We have the 
opportunity to drastically improve the international community's 
ability to reduce global poverty, and to improve the health of people 
worldwide. I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this 
important resolution.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I would like to yield 5 
minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the ranking 
member of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health. I hope that he 
addresses not just this resolution, but the one before us on human 
rights.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank my good friend, the ranking member, 
for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained and didn't get here in time 
to speak on the resolution lauding the Universal Declaration of Human 
Rights.
  The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is among the most durable, 
enduring, inspiring and historic set of fundamental principles ever 
enunciated by anyone ever in history. It ranks right up there with the 
Magna Carta. It ranks right up there with the U.S. Bill of Rights, 
which obviously enumerated a number of our fundamental freedoms that we 
love and enjoy as Americans.
  The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 60 years after its 
adoption, continues to serve as a backdrop to judge government policies 
and behaviors toward its citizens. And that is especially important as 
to how a government treats the weak, its most vulnerable and those who 
might otherwise be disenfranchised.
  The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a promissory note. It's 
a paper promise that must be backed by deeds. It has only, however, 
been realized in part over the last 60 years. It is a work in progress. 
The Declaration inspires people to realize that they, as human beings, 
endowed by God, by our Creator, with certain inalienable rights, ought 
to fight for those rights. And this gives them a very useful tool in 
that endeavor, a means to that end.
  The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has emphasized a number of 
important and hallowed rights, including religious freedom, the right 
to life, freedom from torture, equal protection, due process, labor 
nights and freedom of assembly. Under it, no one should ever be left 
behind. And that means that regardless of race, ethnicity, age, 
disability, or condition of dependency, no one should be left behind.
  We know in many countries of the world, sadly that is not the case. 
In places like the People's Republic of China, human rights are 
systematically and pervasively violated by Beijing, whether it be 
religious freedom or the outrages we recently saw in Tibet, where the 
government crackdown crushed dissent with an iron fist. China 
persecutes the Uighurs in the autonomous region and families, especally 
women as part of their draconian one-child-per-couple policy which has 
made brothers and sisters illegal throughout China. That's right. 
Brothers and sisters are illegal in the People's Republic of China. A 
couple is required to get government permission to have a child. And 
forced abortion and huge fines are imposed on women and men who do not 
submit to the plan. In Burma and North Korea, human rights are also 
violated with grave impunity. And the U.N. Human Rights Council and 
other bodies of the U.N. need to do more to implement the intent of the 
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Sadly, they have largely failed.
  We have seen a very disturbing rise in anti-Semitism throughout 
Europe, certainly in the Middle East, and even in the United States and 
Canada. That too has to be combated. We see a rise in modern-day 
slavery, human trafficking--sex trafficking or labor trafficking. That 
needs to be combated and eradicated and victims assisted. Everyone 
should be free of that kind of terrible and despicable mistreatment. 
The Sudan, Zimbabwe, the genocide occurring in the Darfur region of 
Sudan is also a grave violation of human rights, completely 
antithetical to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Like the 
last, this is a century of victims.
  And let me say before the West gets too smug about how well we are 
doing,

[[Page 12007]]

we, too, have our problems. We see them every day. We have fallen short 
of the standard. I respectfully submit to my colleagues that we have 
failed to treat the defenseless unborn child with compassion and 
justice. We know now more than we have ever known before about the 
magnificent world of an unborn child. Ultrasound, 4-D ultrasound, the 
ability to do intrauterine blood transfusions and microsurgery have 
shattered the myth that an unborn child is somehow not human or alive. 
Of course they are. We know that these babies are society's littlest 
patients, in need of care and love, increasingly surviving at earlier, 
earlier times if born prematurely.
  Abortion needs to be looked at, in my opinion, Mr. Speaker, as a 
serious violation of human rights. Abortion is violence against 
children. The dismemberment or chemical poisoning of a baby is 
antithetical to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. All abuse is 
contrary to the Declaration and that holds true no matter how old you 
are, and that includes unborn children. We also know abortion hurts 
women psychologically and physically. And that evidence grows by the 
day.
  So I would hope that we would look at human rights as being for 
everyone, at all times, regardless of age, condition of dependency, 
regardless of race, no matter where you live. The universal declaration 
is for you. We need to speak out more boldly with better, more focused 
appeals employing all the tools at our disposal, linking sanctions and 
withholding of certain aid if a country doesn't live up to the 
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
  Again, the Declaration is a backdrop. And I hope that we do even 
better than we have in the past. The past has been checkered. Certainly 
we have moved the ball down the court. Much more needs to be done 
however to respect everyone's fundamental human rights.
  I thank my colleagues.
  Mr. PAYNE. I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon, the member 
of the Budget Committee and one of the leading environmentalists in the 
House, Mr. Blumenauer.

                              {time}  1415

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy, as I 
appreciate his leadership on this, and look forward to watching this 
legislation pass today.
  It was my pleasure to be in Johannesburg in 2002 when sanitation was 
added to the Millennium Challenge Development Goal to create a 
comprehensive framework for the needs of the world's poorest. But I am 
saddened that we are here today, still repeating those horrible 
statistics about over 1 billion who lack access to safe drinking water, 
more than 2 billion who lack access to sanitation.
  I would only take exception to my good friend from Florida's comments 
a moment ago, because I have been told that a child dies needlessly 
every 15 seconds. But whether it is 20 seconds or 15 seconds, it is 
absolutely scandalous that in this day and age, when we know what to 
do, when for less than the price of a take-out pizza per year per 
family, the United States alone could be transformational on that. One 
reflects on what difference it would make, not just those children that 
wouldn't die needlessly. It would translate into over one-quarter 
billion additional days in school. It would save over $7 billion in 
unnecessary medical costs. It would allow one-third of a trillion 
working days for young people from age 15 to 39 worldwide. And, make no 
mistake about it, it makes a difference for those of us in the United 
States.
  First of all, pollution any place in the world finds its way into the 
water supply and makes a difference for us. Make no mistake, that at a 
time when virtually no one in the world is more than 24 hours away from 
anybody else watching disease break forth unnecessarily, it is not just 
a tragedy in some remote village or some southern hemisphere megacity. 
It can make a difference for the health of Americans here and abroad. 
And when the CIA has identified urban instability and decay as one of 
the seven greatest causes of threats to our security, this compounds 
our problem with global unrest and terrorism.
  I am pleased that we have been able to work together with Mr. Payne. 
In my prior tenure on the Foreign Affairs Committee, we passed the 
Water for the Poor Act in 2005 and acknowledged the late Mr. Lantos and 
former colleagues Leach, Hyde and Senator Frist. But we are not even 
fully implementing that legislation 3 years later. I commend the 
gentleman for his oversight hearing to help the Department of State to 
understand what is going to be necessary to fully implement this 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, we are halfway through the International Year of 
Sanitation. It is time for us to reflect on what we are going to do 
about this problem. This isn't some remote goal that is beyond our 
capacity. Girl Scout troops, churches, synagogues and Rotary Clubs know 
what to do and in fact they are acting at a grassroots level to do 
something about it. We in Congress need to do our job supporting Mr. 
Payne with the accountability of the State Department.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Serrano). The time of the gentleman has 
expired.
  Mr. PAYNE. I yield an additional minute to the gentleman from Oregon.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. One of the most important things we can do is to work 
to transfer unnecessary military assistance. The United States is 
lavishing huge sums of money for military aid on countries like Egypt 
and Pakistan, where it is dubious in terms of the outcome of security 
for us or anybody else, but they have populations that are desperately 
in need of clean water and sanitation. We need to reorder our 
priorities to be able to achieve this goal.
  Back in 2002 when we added sanitation, 2015 seemed like a long way 
away. Well, we are halfway there, in terms of time, but we are not 
halfway there in terms of accomplishment. I hope that this resolution 
will be a little nudge to us all to make sure that we do our part. I 
appreciate the gentleman's courtesy and his leadership.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
so I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to say that I urge support 
of this resolution. As the previous speaker indicated, we passed 
legislation called Water For the Poor, and in our oversight hearing I 
was looking for places like Burkina Faso in Niger that had no water, 
but found that the money was allocated to Iraq and Afghanistan. ``Water 
for the Poor'' was what it was called, not ``Water for the War.''
  So we need to be sure that when we pass legislation, that it goes to 
the intended recipients and not for other purposes. If other purposes 
must be done, put them in another budget. There is plenty of money in 
other budgets and no one ever opposes them. So put it over there, and 
leave our Water for the Poor for the countries that are actually and 
really poor.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Serrano). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 
318, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. PAYNE. 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 motion will be 
postponed.

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