Earl Blumenauer: “the turmoil surrounding the Katrina aftermath and some of the winds of change here in Washington, DC, obscures the fact…”

“the turmoil surrounding the Katrina aftermath and some of the winds of change here in Washington, DC, obscures the fact that every 15 seconds a child dies needlessly and hundreds of millions of people worldwide are sick from waterborne diseases. But a small bright spot is emerging for the United States leadership potential on this issue. I commend Senator Frist for his personal concern and leadership in the other body and bipartisan legislation co-sponsored by Democratic leader Senator Reed. In the foreign ops bill there is $200 million in the Senate version dedicated for water objectives, a significant increase given that we are currently only spending $8 million in the entire continent of Africa. We await floor action on our bill out of the House International Relations Committee, the Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act, where Congress can act to pull together the pieces for a global water strategy. It is easily within our power to meet our commitments to extend safe drinking water and sanitation to over a billion people in need. ____________________”