Ted Poe: “For most students here in the United States, recess is a time for recreation. For the pupils of Balkumari Primary School…”

“For most students here in the United States, recess is a time for recreation. For the pupils of Balkumari Primary School in Kathmandu, Nepal, recess is the only opportunity for them to get water. For decades, the school relied on a tiny stream as its only source of drinkable water, a 20-minute walk away. In 2013, however, the stream dried up, leaving the school without access to drinkable water. So the education stopped. Mr. Speaker, the story has a happy ending because the Balkumari Primary School received U.S. aid for water. Now with water access, students scramble out of the schoolyard, learning and developing with an education, as normal kids should. This is why the Water for the World Act that Representative Blumenauer and I authored is so important, which is now the law of the land. The legislation requires a comprehensive plan for the United States to aid other countries in securing clean water. We have it within our power to help kids like the Balkumari Primary School because, Mr. Speaker, water is life. And that is just the way it is. ____________________”