Jeff Bingaman: “I rise to speak about an issue that I spoke about last Monday here on the Senate floor--a little over a week ago. The…”

“I rise to speak about an issue that I spoke about last Monday here on the Senate floor--a little over a week ago. The issue deals with the substandard, mostly rural, subdivisions along the United States-Mexico border called colonias. This is an issue that the Senator from Arizona addressed earlier and we had a vote on here in the Senate. Colonias came into existence when developers sold families coming across the border small, unimproved lots with the promise that water, sewer, and other services would soon follow. These basic infrastructure needs did not follow, resulting in communities that resemble those in developing countries. In my home State of New Mexico, we have approximately 14 colonias located near Las Cruces. Those 14 colonias contain about 16,000 people. I visited several of these colonias. I have seen the families coping with conditions that most of us would have difficulty believing-- unfinished cinder block homes with sewage pipes not connected to anything, dumping directly into open ditches. Children who play in these polluted ditches are plagued by serious, debilitating illnesses such as hepatitis and intestinal infections, stomach disorders, and low-grade fevers. It is hard to believe that in this country we have people living under these circumstances.”