[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 468 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 468
Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to the world's
freshwater resources.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 25, 2004
Ms. Schakowsky (for herself, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Bell, Ms. Kaptur, Mr.
Wexler, Mr. Stark, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Owens, Mr. Renzi, Mr.
Kind, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Payne, Mr. Brady
of Pennsylvania, Ms. Lee, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Mr. Towns, Mr. Hinchey,
Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Lantos, Ms. Carson of Indiana, Ms. Waters, Mr.
McDermott, Ms. McCarthy of Missouri, Ms. Bordallo, Ms. Woolsey, Mr.
Emanuel, Ms. Millender-McDonald, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Jackson of
Illinois, and Mrs. Christensen) submitted the following concurrent
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International
Relations, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services and
Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to the world's
freshwater resources.
Whereas freshwater is fundamental for life, a finite natural resource, and
belongs to the earth and all species for all time;
Whereas available freshwater represents less than one-half of one-percent of the
world's total water stock;
Whereas global consumption of water is doubling every 20 years, more than twice
the rate of human population growth;
Whereas 31 countries currently face water shortages with another 17 likely to be
added to this list by 2025;
Whereas more than one billion people lack adequate access to safe drinking
water; 2.5 billion people have no access to proper sanitation and more
than five million people, mostly children, die each year from water-
related diseases;
Whereas unsustainable practices lead to depletion of aquifers, falling water
tables, and ground and surface water pollution;
Whereas indigenous peoples have had the waters on which they depend dangerously
polluted and exploited;
Whereas current United Nations' Millennium Development Goals call for reducing
by one-half the number of those without safe drinking water and
sanitation by the year 2015; and
Whereas the United Nations' Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
has adopted the General Comment on the right to water, which states that
the human right to drinking water is fundamental for life and health,
and sufficient and safe drinking water is a precondition for the
realization of all other human rights: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That this resolution may be cited as the ``Water for the World
Resolution''.
Sec. 2. The Congress--
(1) affirms water as a public trust and global public good
that should not be treated as a private commodity where this
would limit or deny public access to freshwater resources;
(2) recognizes that government policies should ensure that
all individuals have equitable access to water to meet basic
human needs and that no one is cut off from water for survival
due to economic constraints;
(3) upholds the principle that governments should engage
all members of society, including local civil society
organizations, citizens' associations, environmental groups,
indigenous peoples, farmers, women, workers and others, in
direct and meaningful participation in overseeing decisions
about the conservation, distribution, use, and management of
water in their communities, localities, and regions;
(4) asserts that water management priorities should reflect
the goals of safeguarding and sustaining water resources;
(5) recognizes that more sustainable agricultural practices
are necessary to protect water resources;
(6) affirms that the United States Congress firmly commits
itself to meet the Millennium Development Goals, especially as
they pertain to universal access to water and sanitation;
(7) recommends that international, regional, and bilateral
trade agreements, should not include conditions related to the
provision of water for human use that would result in reduced
access to water;
(8) affirms that access to international loans and debt
reduction programs should not be conditioned on implementing
increased cost recovery policies when those policies would
result in significantly increased water rates that reduce
access to safe drinking water and sanitation;
(9) asserts that the United States' Executive Directors of
International Financial Institutions should not approve loans
that require increased cost recovery, or water privatization or
public/private partnerships that would result in significant
increases in consumer water fees that would restrict access to
water;
(10) deems that federal funding not be conditioned on the
consideration of public/private partnerships or other forms of
privatization that would restrict access to water; and
(11) asserts that Federal policies should ensure that in
the United States direct and indirect sources of water
pollution, including factories, refineries, commercial
agriculture, and wastewater treatment plants, are adequately
regulated and those responsible held accountable for the
pollution they cause.
<all>