E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 114 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 161 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015 No. 46 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. and was cient to prevent a humanitarian dis- about the imminent collapse of Gaza’s called to order by the Speaker pro tem- aster looming for Gaza and the region. coastal aquifer, but too many politi- pore (Mr. HARDY). The tunnels that were dug by Hamas cians everywhere have failed to re- from Gaza into Israel were not the only f spond. things underground that should gen- While we don’t want to minimize DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO erate public concern. Without rapid ac- Israel’s important move to authorize TEMPORE tion, the drinking water beneath Gaza, additional water into Gaza, we The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- or the lack thereof, poses a threat to shouldn’t overstate its impact in avert- fore the House the following commu- the region that is as severe or worse ing the region’s looming water crisis. nication from the Speaker: than Hamas’ tunnels. That is because What is going to happen if thousands the coastal aquifer, the only source of of Gazans actually rush to the fences, WASHINGTON, DC, drinking water for 1.8 million Gazans, March 18, 2015. trying to get to Egypt or Israel for I hereby appoint the Honorable CRESENT is near collapse, as soon as 2016. water? What happens if the water crisis HARDY to act as Speaker pro tempore on this Like the cities of Los Angeles or Tel broadens the appeal of Hamas’ malice day. Aviv, Gaza cannot currently meet its in Gaza? JOHN A. BOEHNER, water needs from within its bound- Look at the recent history in Syria, Speaker of the House of Representatives. aries. That dynamic is compounded by where the collapse of civil order and f the fact that Gaza’s population is rap- the civil war was precipitated by per- idly increasing and now consumes sistent drought that drove people from MORNING-HOUR DEBATE three times the amount of water that the countryside into the city. Such is naturally replenished from rain- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- dire outcomes in Gaza could be avoided water. ant to the order of the House of Janu- if additional and immediate long-term ary 6, 2015, the Chair will now recog- The massive amount of water with- drawn from the aquifer over the last measures were employed. nize Members from lists submitted by Based on the existing infrastructure, several decades has allowed salty Medi- the majority and minority leaders for Israel has the potential to double— morning-hour debate. terranean seawater to contaminate the drinking water at an ever-increasing overnight—the quantity of water sup- The Chair will alternate recognition plied to Gaza. A wastewater treatment between the parties, with each party rate. A 2012 United Nations report said that 90 percent of the coastal aquifer plant recently built under the manage- limited to 1 hour and each Member ment of the World Bank in Gaza could other than the majority and minority salinity levels were too great for drink- ing purposes. Today that figure is 95 reduce by a third the amount of un- leaders and the minority whip limited treated wastewater that pollutes both to 5 minutes, but in no event shall de- percent. By the end of 2016, the entire aquifer will be unfit for human con- the groundwater and the beaches of bate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. sumption. And unless action is taken, Israel and Gaza. f by 2020, that damage will be irrevers- It is clearly in Israel’s interest to fa- cilitate the private-public partnerships GAZA’S WATER SHORTAGE ible. To make matters worse, Gaza does that lead to greater energy independ- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The not have large and modern sewage ence and assist the Palestinian Water Chair recognizes the gentleman from treatment plants and operations. The Authority. Oregon (Mr. BLUMENAUER) for 5 min- sewage from 1.8 million Gazans further Strengthening the Palestinian Au- utes. pollutes the groundwater and risks the thority by increasing the flow of water Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, outbreak of pandemic diseases like into Gaza and dealing with the sanita- amidst the troubling picture coming cholera and typhoid. Sewage remains tion crisis weakens Hamas and high- out of the Israeli elections, there was untreated as 90,000 cubic meters of raw lights their inability to provide public some good news from the Middle East sewage, flows into the Mediterranean services. for a change. The Israeli Government every day. Last night’s election was deeply announced that it would double the Israeli intelligence knew about and troubling for the future of Israeli poli- amount of water it sells to Gaza from warned about Hamas’ tunnels long be- tics and a two-state solution, long the 5 million to 10 million cubic meters an- fore they were used, but Israeli politi- policy of the United States and, until nually. This is positive momentum we cians chose not to take their counsel. recently, the leadership of Israel. must build upon because, while it is an Environmental and water experts But taking action on water and sani- important step, the quantity is insuffi- have been warning for many years tation is a small, critical, important b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H1725 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 11:26 Jan 19, 2016 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\RECORD15\MAR 15\H18MR5.REC H18MR5 DSKD7QTVN1PROD with CONG-REC-ONLINE H1726 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE March 18, 2015 step that everyone can support and will tion Assistance Program, or SNAP, the For Republicans, cuts to programs benefit Israelis and Palestinians alike. Nation’s premier antihunger program. for low-income Americans might rally I hope this will be an important focus Like Republican budgets of past years, their base, but it won’t solve our budg- for those of us in Congress as we look this year’s budget converts SNAP into et challenges. Poor and working fami- at our aid packages going forward. a block grant for States. lies did not cause our fiscal problems. f Mr. Speaker, this would end SNAP as But time and time again, programs we know it. Previous estimates of the that help them survive tough times IN REMEMBRANCE OF WYNONA impact of block granting SNAP show and provide them with opportunities to HAYDON that it will result in about $130 billion get out of poverty are always targeted The SPEAKER pro tempore. The in cuts to the program. A cut of that for drastic cuts. Chair recognizes the gentleman from magnitude to SNAP would have serious And what is especially troubling to North Carolina (Mr. HOLDING) for 5 harmful consequences to the 46 million me is that the poorest and most vul- minutes. Americans who relied on SNAP last nerable Americans continue to be the Mr. HOLDING. Mr. Speaker, I rise year to put food on their tables. target of false and often mean-spirited today in remembrance of Wynona This is the same budget that includes rhetoric in this Chamber. It is time for Haydon, a beloved woman who recently a number of other devastating funding that to stop. passed away into the loving arms of cuts to programs that support children, Instead of cutting SNAP, we should our Lord. families, and seniors. The Republican be strengthening the program. We Wynona married Julian Woodrow budget would end the Medicare guaran- should be increasing the benefits so it Haydon after graduating from high tees, block grant Medicaid, and repeal enables struggling individuals and fam- school, and then she began her career the Affordable Care Act, which has ilies to afford more healthy foods, in- as an assistant with the Department of helped 16.4 million Americans gain af- cluding fresh fruits and vegetables. The Defense. Throughout her 36-year ca- fordable, high-quality health insur- current SNAP benefit is already woe- reer, she held positions at the Pen- ance. fully inadequate, about $1.40 per person tagon and at Military Ocean Terminal The Republican budget also includes per meal, and many families run out of Sunny Point in North Carolina. There, reconciliation instructions to the Agri- food 3 weeks into the month because she met General James Doolittle, Gen- culture Committee, requiring addi- the benefit level already is so low. eral Omar Bradley, and General Dwight tional cuts to programs within the We also should be working to address D. Eisenhower. She helped usher in the committee’s jurisdiction. one of the biggest flaws in our social postwar era, alongside many other Mr. Speaker, I couldn’t support last safety net, the so-called food stamp military officers and personnel. year’s farm bill because it included an cliff, where someone gets a job and Mr. Speaker, Wynona was proud to be $8.6 billion cut to SNAP, but the Agri- loses their benefits but still earns so an American, and she was equally culture Committee finished its work on little that they end up worse off and proud of being a North Carolinian. a reauthorization bill. It is done. We are back to struggling to put food on Someone once said of Wynona that should not be reopening the farm bill their table.