Political Quotes

“Today, on Capitol Hill, we are watching several hundred dedicated volunteers fan out to share their vision of the United States' providing leadership for safe drinking water and sanitation around the globe. They will point out that, today, women will spend 200 million hours gathering water for their families--200 million hours that will not be spent farming or in economic enterprise, 200 million hours that will not be spent in school, 200 million hours that too often take them away from the village and put them at risk for physical sexual assault. They will be talking to our colleagues on Capitol Hill about some critical legislation that my colleague Ted Poe and I have introduced, H.R. 2901, the Paul Simon Water for the World Act, which will, in a deficit- neutral fashion, help refine the approach that the United States, the USAID, and the State Department take in providing water assistance around the globe. I must say, this morning I heard, in an eloquent fashion, Congressman Poe lay out the need, the vision, and the solution. I cannot say enough about the bipartisan leadership of my colleague from Texas. He points out that, as a Democrat from the Northwest, I don't have all that much in common with my Republican friend from Texas, but this is an area in which we are united. The United States must do all it can to prevent unnecessary disease and death from contaminated water, but it goes beyond issues of disease and sanitation.…”