[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 1662]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               DEDICATED WATER INFRASTRUCTURE TRUST FUND

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I came to Congress committed to helping 
the Federal Government do a better job dealing with water and 
sanitation. We have had great success internationally raising the 
profile and directing more money in a more effective way to deal with 
water and sanitation in poor countries, making a difference in millions 
of lives.
  In the United States, we often take those conditions for granted. But 
as has been demonstrated recently in Flint, Michigan, we do so at our 
peril because we have serious problems right here in the United States. 
It is not just Flint, Michigan. There are up to 10 million lead water 
lines that remain where even a slight change in the water chemistry, 
even from just repairing it, can damage lead pipes enough to start 
contaminating people's water. What is underground and out of sight is 
actually in worse condition than our crumbling roads and bridges. 
America leaks more water than we drink every day.
  In the aftermath of the recession, we have seen States cut drinking 
water budgets and staff. The Federal Government had cut our investment 
in drinking water infrastructure by more than 80 percent by 1980. This, 
despite the fact that ours is a growing country with aging 
infrastructure that was rated a D by the American Society of Civil 
Engineers in their latest report.
  Now, I am pleased that the administration in its budget would put a 
little extra money to help replace lead pipes. Sadly, that is being 
financed by cutting even more from the Clean Water State Revolving 
Fund, essentially at the expense of keeping water clean in the first 
place.
  We should look at our water infrastructure as an entire system and 
increased Federal investment is long overdue. We would have to increase 
our funding 500 percent to reach the level of spending during Jimmy 
Carter's presidency.
  I have long advocated the development of a water infrastructure trust 
fund. We have reintroduced a bipartisan, budget-neutral solution to 
create a dedicated water infrastructure trust fund to provide 
additional revenue to State and local water and sanitation projects. It 
is financed by a voluntary program where businesses that rely heavily 
on clean water, like the beverage industry, for example, that have a 
keen interest in maintaining water infrastructure would, on a voluntary 
basis, pay a miniscule fee. In exchange, they would be designated as 
supporting the clean water trust fund.
  It is estimated that this could generate up to $7 billion annually in 
new revenue that could go to State and local governments as grants and 
loans, which in turn could leverage even more money.
  This legislation would also give direction and resources for the EPA 
to deal with the affordability gap. We can actually finance much of the 
needed water and infrastructure improvements, but we are hamstrung 
because there is understandable reluctance to raise rates that fall too 
much on the poorest of citizens. Thus, we are in a cycle of unpaid 
water and sewer bills that leaves nobody with satisfactory 
alternatives.
  This legislation would give more money to State and local 
governments, allowing them to leverage additional money and to focus on 
ways to deal with a very substantial problem of low income for whom 
access to safe drinking water and sanitation is every bit as 
fundamental a human right as what we are doing to help poor people 
overseas achieve.
  Mr. Speaker, I celebrate Secretary Clinton and a number of our 
colleagues going to Flint, Michigan, to focus on the problem. I applaud 
people who are looking at where the system failed, but I would hope we 
would pay as much attention to the systematic failure of Congress and 
at the State level to attach priority to this fundamental building 
block for a livable community.
  I hope my colleagues will join me, not just in cosponsoring H.R. 
4468, but enacting the trust fund and fighting for budgets that 
represent the resources this crisis demands.

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