Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2014

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2901, the Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2014, which makes the provision of safe water and sanitation a stated goal of U.S. foreign assistance policy and requires the President, through the State Department, to develop and implement a strategy to further such efforts in developing countries.

Safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene are among the most basic needs a person can have, yet 748 million people in the world do not have access to safe water; roughly 1/10 of the world's population.

In countries such as Ethiopia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Niger and Papua New Guinea, less than 50% of the population has access to safe water.

More than 2.5 billion people in the world lack access to adequate sanitation, which is approximately 35 percent of the global population.

The lack of clean water and basic sanitation facilities leaves millions trapped in a cycle of poverty and disease, costing the lives of around 500,000 children per year--dying from diarrhea caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation.

The Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act will make better use of existing WASH (``Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene'') funds, strengthen accountability for WASH programs already underway, and ensure the greatest impact on communities worldwide without spending new money or creating new bureaucracy.

For every $1 invested in WASH, $4 is returned in increased economic productivity, making WASH one of the most effective and efficient choices we can make for global child health, nutrition, resource conservation, women's empowerment and education.

Specifically, H.R. 2901, the Water for the World Act, will:

1. Institutionalize existing capacity in the U.S. government to ensure WASH remains a political priority and expertise is available at USAID and State Department headquarters to guide strategic implementation of effective and sustainable WASH programs

2. Enhance criteria for choosing high-priority countries to ensure that limited funds are directed to the countries and communities most in need

3. Advance best practices of effective aid, such as improved monitoring and evaluation and a focus on leveraging non-Federal partnerships and funds

4. Improve the strategic approach to international safe water, sanitation, hygiene, and water resources management by providing smart guidance that builds off USAID's own strategy

The bill before us today also provides for a Global Water Coordinator to be designated to oversee water, sanitation, and hygiene assistance, and to develop a complementary strategy to further the U.S. foreign assistance objective to provide affordable and equitable drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene in developing countries.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2901 will provide effective, long-term, sustainable impacts by improving coordination and oversight of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene projects and activities.

By voting in support of this act, we have the power to improve the well-being, education, economic opportunity, safety and dignity of the 2.5 billion people in the world who live without a basic latrine every day.

I strongly encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting the passage of the Water for the World Act to save lives, reduce poverty, and help drive economic growth by bringing safe drinking water and improved sanitation and hygiene to those most in need.

Mr. Speaker, access to clean, potable water will be one of the world's most pressing problems over the next century and further contribute to instability within and between nations as is the case in the Darfur conflict.

In the developing world, water-related diseases kill 5,000 children every day.

Sick children miss nearly 300 million school days a year from water- related causes, and an estimated 320 million productive work days are lost to illness--with much of the burden carried by girls and women.

Mr. Speaker, I agree with Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois, Senator Paul Simon's successor and the lead Democratic sponsor of the Senate companion to H.R. 2901, that:

Water access is no longer simply a global health and

development issue; it is a mortal and long-term threat that

is increasingly becoming a national security issue. The

United States needs to do much more to ensure that global

water access is protected and expanded.

Passing H.R. 2901 is an essential first step in ensuring that global water access is protected and expanded.

I urge all members to join me in supporting this important legislation and fitting memorial to the late great Senator from Illinois, Senator Paul Simon.

Mr. Speaker, nearly three-and-a-half years ago, Congressman Ted Poe and I set out on a joint effort to increase access to clean drinking water and sanitation for the world's poorest. His commitment to work together on this effort was for all of the right reasons. The most important, however, was his clear understanding that politics stops at water.

And last night, our years of work and shared efforts were rewarded when the House passed the bipartisan Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act.

My efforts began over a decade ago, and were encouraged by the late Senator Paul Simon, the namesake of this bill and my 2005 Water for the Poor Act. It's fitting that on this day--the anniversary of his passing on December 9, 2003--Congress would honor his memory by considering a bill that aims to fulfill one of his greatest passions. This country owes him a great deal for his vision and foresight. Thank you, Senator Paul Simon, and to his wife, Patti, who continues to support his important work.

The passage of the Water for the World Act is historic.

Never before has the U.S. had a Global Water Strategy for how to effectively deal with growing water scarcity in all corners of the world. We now have a blueprint on how to help those in need, while at the same time planning for, and then implementing, efforts to prevent and mitigate water-related conflict. The U.S. can no longer afford to play a modest role, and instead must take up the mantle of leadership. This bill ensures that will happen.

None of this would have been possible if it weren't for efforts of literally thousands of people all across the country that took action and urged Congress to pass the Water for the World Act. In October, I joined Charlie Dent and over 60,000 of our closest friends in Central Park for a rally calling on Congress to act on this critical legislation. It worked.

The Water for the World Act was endorsed by over 80 NGOs, nearly half of whom are faith-based organizations. While all played a critical role, there are a few that deserve individual recognition.

Going all the way back to 2005, we would have barely moved the needle if it weren't for Malcolm Morris and Mark Winter of Living Water International.

David Douglas has been a constant source of encouragement and support.

I also want to thank Lisa Schechtman of WaterAid, John Sparks of the Millennium Water Alliance, Lisa Bos of World Vision, John Oldfield of WASH Advocates, and Erin Rein (``Reen'') of InterAction. They have been on the front lines of this effort, ready to jump into action at a moment's notice.

Others have been indispensible as well, including Habitat for Humanity, Water.org, and the Global Poverty Project.

I also want to thank my House colleagues who personally invested a great deal of time into bringing this bill to the floor. Without Ted Poe, the issue of increasing access to clean drinking water and sanitation would not have the bipartisan support and appreciation it deserves. He made this happen. Thank you, Ted. I also want to thank Chairman Royce. The Chairman went out of his way to make Water for the World a priority and is the latest extension of his efforts to meaningfully reform our aid programs.

Just as important to this effort have been our friends and allies at USAID and the Department of State. Starting with former Secretary of State Clinton, who made water a focal point of her time in Foggy Bottom, and her Special Advisor for Water Resources, Dr. Aaron Salzberg. And Christian Holmes at USAID, the first-ever Global Water Coordinator, with whom I look forward to continuing to work.

Finally, as every Member of Congress knows, we wouldn't make much progress on anything if it weren't for the dedicated, hardworking staff that actually run the place. Without the tireless efforts and expertise from Joan Condon and her colleagues on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and from Luke Murry in Congressman Poe's office, it would have been nearly impossible to secure this important victory for water and sanitation.

I want to conclude by thanking my staff. It seems like generations of Team Blumenauer have been involved in this effort at one point or another. From Judah Ariel to Steph Cappa, to Michael Harold, thank you!

Let's hope this shining example of bipartisan cooperation is not only a source of holiday cheer, but also an example all of us in Congress can draw on in the New Year.

Mr. Speaker, 5 years ago, if someone asked what a bow tie-wearing progressive Democrat from Oregon and my colleague Ted Poe, a cowboy, boot-wearing conservative Republican from Texas, could agree on, you would have said, Not much.

Today, we are partners on an issue, however, that makes sense regardless of your politics: ensuring sustainable, equitable access to clean water for nearly 800 million women, children, and men who don't have it and the 2.5 billion without even the most basic sanitation services. Ted Poe and I think that politics should stop with water. That's why, today, we are introducing the Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2013 (H.R. 2901).

Since Congress passed the Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act in 2005, the United States has become a global leader in efforts to increase access to clean water and sanitation, developing and implementing some of the most innovative approaches to help those in greatest need. We must not only maintain this progress but work to further refine and focus the efforts at USAID and at the Department of State by enacting the World Act.

We are committed because dirty water and a lack of sanitation affects all areas of development assistance. This is especially the case when it comes to women and children. More children are killed by waterborne disease than any other. Increasing access to clean water and sanitation has a significant multiplier effect on other areas of development, enabling us to do more with less--critical in a time of constrained budget resources.

Every day, the world has more people but fewer freshwater resources. Our bipartisan legislation will give the United States the capacity to avoid unnecessary loss of life and conflict in the future. It would ensure that water, sanitation, and hygiene programs are reflected in other development assistance; prioritize long-lasting impacts of United States foreign aid dollars; and increase the focusing on monitoring, evaluation, transparency, and capacity building.

Children cannot attend school if they're sick from dirty water. Half the world's hospital beds today are filled with people suffering from waterborne disease needlessly. Hours spent getting water are hours not working or in school.

A lack of clean drinking water has a disproportionate effect on women, who, in developing countries, walk an average of 3.7 miles a day to get water. The estimates are that 40 billion working hours are lost each year in Africa alone--200 million hours today.

Having water means girls can go to school and build a better future. It also reduces the risk of violence and sexual assault. A study by Doctors without Borders found that 82 percent of the women and girls treated for rape in West and South Darfur were attacked while they were gathering water or firewood.

The challenge is not getting easier, because 97 percent of the water on Earth is salty and unfit to drink. Of the 2\1/2\ percent, roughly, of the Earth's water that is fresh, two-thirds of that is frozen-- locked away in the ice caps and glaciers. Although it's rapidly melting because of climate change, that's not going to help us, because it will be largely salty as well. We've got less than 1 percent of global freshwater available for human use; and because of the demands for growing food, energy and industry, only about one-tenth of a percent is available for people to drink. This tiny fraction is further diminished by deficient or nonexistent water infrastructure. Even in the United States, we waste 6 billion gallons of freshwater every day through leaky pipes. We are entering an era of severe water scarcity that the Department of Defense warns could lead to global insecurity.

In short, Mr. Speaker, there is nothing more fundamental to families and global health than clean water and sanitation. More needs to be done, and it needs to be done well. Taxpayers, understandably, demand better results and greater transparency from foreign aid. This bill provides the tools and incentives to do just that.

We urge our colleagues to adopt our motto--``politics stops at water''--and support this effort. This magnitude will take a team working together, united in the goal of saving lives and improving communities around the world. Please join us in this critical legislation, the Paul Simon Water for the World Act (H.R. 2901).

Mr. Speaker, the recent news account of a horrific murder and rape of two young girls in India shocked our consciousness, but one of the items that was interesting is that few of the news accounts actually detailed what put those young women at risk.

Julie McCarthy of NPR had a story which highlighted one of the greatest human global health challenges that created this situation. They were indeed attacked, raped, and hung from a tree after they were caught in a field.

These two young women didn't have access to a toilet, and like so many women around the world, but particularly in India, they went out in the fields at night to relieve themselves, and they went in a pair to minimize the likelihood that they would be isolated.

This is offensive on so many levels. It is emblematic of violence against women, the vicious attitudes by people towards lower castes, and the complicated dynamic of castes in rural India.

It is also testimony to the need to be able to have these young women--and others around the globe--have access to adequate sanitation facilities, so they don't have to sneak out at night or early in the morning, cloaked in darkness to disguise their embarrassment, to use a nearby field as their restroom.

One-half of India's population uses open fields for defecation. Fewer than half of Indian households have a toilet. The women and girls perform a ritual to deal with this most basic bodily function, often in fear and trepidation.

This is one more piece of evidence as to why the American effort to increase our help for access to basic sanitation and safe drinking water is a moral imperative, as well as being critical for global health, security, education, and stable economic development.

Globally, 2.5 billion men, women, and children do not have access to adequate sanitation. This means that there are more people on Earth with a cell phone than with a toilet. Countries where open defecation is more prevalent also have the highest numbers of deaths for children under five, high levels of undernutrition and poverty, and huge disparities between rich and poor.

The lack of adequate sanitation is a huge drag on economies at a national level. The total global economic losses associated with inadequate water supply and sanitation are estimated to be $260 billion annually.

According to the World Bank for India alone, inadequate sanitation costs the country the equivalent of 6.4 percent of their gross domestic product, over $50 billion a year.

Not only do women have to plan their day around performing this most basic bodily function, they are also most likely to be the family members tasked with collecting drinking water--often dirty and polluted--for their families.

In fact, in just one day, it is estimated that more than 152 million hours of women and girls' time is consumed for another most basic of human need--collecting water, often from distant, polluted sources. This is time not spent working on income-generating jobs, caring for family members, or securing an education. The average distance for many of these women and girls is 10 miles a day.

Like a woman's search for a safe place to relieve herself, the search for drinking water, particularly when they must walk alone before or after daylight hours, leaves her vulnerable to rape and other violent attacks.

The most acutely impacted, however, are children. Over 1,400 children die every day from diarrhea caused from dirty water and poor sanitation. The lack of access to safe drinking water means a child dies needlessly every minute.

These are heartbreaking stories and jarring facts, but there are solutions. That is why I am hopeful we will be able to work with our friends on the House Foreign Affairs Committee to move the bipartisan bill that I am working with Judge Poe, Water for the World Act, H.R. 2901, to make American efforts more effective to deal with preventing the needless loss of a child's life every minute and the threat to young women and girls.

If we needed more evidence, consider the lynching of these two teenage rape victims in India. How could we not do all we can?

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, by unanimous consent motion offered by my friend, and the bill's Republican lead, Ted Poe, the House passed H.R. 2901, our Paul Simon Water for the World Act. It was almost anticlimactic, considering all the ins and outs it has taken for years to be able to hammer out the details necessary to take the next step in reform.

The hard work was all worth it, enhancing our efforts to have the United States embrace its responsibility to help the world deal with our water and sanitation crisis. Make no mistake about it; it is a crisis.

Today 152 million hours will be spent by women and girls to get water--often dirty, polluted water--to meet the basic needs of their families. Almost three-quarter billion people still lack access to this fundamental necessity of life.

There is an even greater crisis with inadequate sanitation. There are approximately 2.5 billion people who suffer from this lack of what most of us take for granted. It results in horrific disease, stunted growth, and malnutrition. In fact, the children under 5 who are malnourished in India are suffering less from a lack of food and more from the diseases produced by poor sanitation. The children who do survive are left with mental and physical burdens for their entire life.

In a world where there are more cell phones than toilets, this is something that we can do something about. It is seriously out of kilter. The world knows what to do, and we can afford a solution. The enactment of the Water for the World legislation moves us in that direction by focusing the United States' efforts on things that will work, areas of the world most in need, and making sure our solutions are sustainable.

I deeply appreciate the leadership of my friend, colleague, and principle cosponsor of the bill, Ted Poe, who has been tireless in his efforts; the work of Chairman Royce and the Foreign Affairs Committee; our partners in the other body, Senators Dick Durbin and Bob Corker; and, of course, dozens of nongovernmental organizations that have been at work around the globe making progress while they have been unrelenting advocates here at home.

I must also acknowledge the tireless efforts of my legislative director, Michael Harold, who has done as much as any human alive to get this across the finish line.

Mr. Speaker, this is an amazing and important accomplishment, but it makes me pause. What else could we do in the spirit of bipartisan cooperation and doing what is right?

Might it be possible to take a small step, show a little courage, and embrace what Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill could do over 30 years ago? President Reagan used his radio address on Thanksgiving 1982 to provide leadership to more than double the gas tax, which he correctly pointed out was really a user fee and which had not increased in 23 years while roads were falling apart.

Well, the current gas tax has not been increased in almost 22 years, and America is falling apart and falling behind. The highway trust fund is going bankrupt. Everyone acknowledges an increase is long overdue. With gasoline prices falling dramatically, seemingly every week, and expected to continue doing so well into the foreseeable future, a nickel a gallon per year is hardly going to be noticed.

But as President Reagan pointed out, people will directly benefit. Today poor road maintenance costs the typical family $377 per year in damage to their cars, far more than they would pay in a small increase in the gas tax. Millions of hours and billions of dollars are wasted due to highway congestion.

So let's square our shoulders. Let's show some backbone and vision and take another step forward. Let's raise the user fee we call the gas tax, put hundreds of thousands of people to work all across America at family wage jobs, and renew and rebuild this great country. This would be a nice

Christmas present that Americans will enjoy for years to come.