[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19827]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        WATER FOR THE WORLD ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. As America prepares for the holiday season and the 
new year, it is important to pause to reflect on our good fortune and, 
on this season of goodwill, what we can do for others. I hope that 
Congress will give the gift of life, hope, and economic prosperity to 
people around the world, a gift most Americans take for granted: safe 
water.
  Almost a billion people around the globe lack access to safe drinking 
water, and over 2\1/2\ billion don't have access to adequate 
sanitation. This is why the number one health challenge is water-
related disease.
  Half the people who are sick today anywhere on this planet are sick 
unnecessarily from waterborne diseases that are particularly brutal on 
their impact on children. Ninety percent of the deaths caused are 
children under 5. The 1.8 million lives that are lost are more than 
AIDS, TB, and malaria combined.
  It's also a major cause of the struggle for economic security. For 
example, in India, the estimate is over $50 billion a year, more than 6 
percent of its economy, is lost due to inadequate water and sanitation. 
How does this happen? Children cannot attend school if they are sick 
from unsafe drinking water. People with illnesses overwhelm the few 
hospitals and clinics and they can't go to work. Hours spent looking 
for and carrying clean water, usually by girls and women, means that 
they're not adding either to education or the economic well-being of 
their families.
  Historically, water's been a source of conflict, and with over 260 
river basins that cross country borders, managing this very finite 
resource without conflict will be one of the world's greatest security 
problems.
  In this season of good tidings, there is good news about water. The 
solutions are cheap and easy. We're not required to search for a cure. 
Helping people understand the need to wash their hands or providing 
them with simple, commonsense technology is key.
  Churches, parishes, and synagogues have already taken up this 
challenge, and hundreds of thousands of people have benefited. It's 
time for Congress to act.
  In 2005, the bipartisan Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act helped us 
get our act together. Now we have new legislation, Water for the World, 
which will be introduced tomorrow with my colleague and friend, 
Congressman Ted Poe from Texas, the chief Republican cosponsor. It 
builds on current United States efforts--not by increasing funds. Make 
no mistake, I hope some day we do increase the investment around the 
globe. But right now, this legislation will increase aid effectiveness, 
transparency, and accountability. Given the strains on Federal 
resources and the depth of the need, it is essential that we target our 
efforts as efficiently as possible.
  The Water for the World Act gives the State Department and USAID 
tools to leverage investments. It helps elevate positions within the 
agency to coordinate diplomatic policy and implement country-specific 
water strategies.
  The House Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, under the 
leadership of Kay Granger and Nita Lowey, has done the best it can in 
this difficult budget climate with resources for poor people with water 
around the world. Now Congress needs to step up to make sure these 
precious resources are used as effectively as possible.
  I sincerely hope my colleagues will join Congressman Poe and me in 
cosponsoring the Water for the World Act and then work to enact it as 
soon as possible.

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