E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 113 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 159 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2013 No. 113 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. and was of your politics: ensuring sustainable, disease needlessly. Hours spent getting called to order by the Speaker pro tem- equitable access to clean water for water are hours not working or in pore (Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan). nearly 800 million women, children, school. f and men who don’t have it and the 2.5 A lack of clean drinking water has a billion without even the most basic disproportionate effect on women, who, DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO sanitation services. TED POE and I in developing countries, walk an aver- TEMPORE think that politics should stop with age of 3.7 miles a day to get water. The The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- water. That’s why, today, we are intro- estimates are that 40 billion working fore the House the following commu- ducing the Paul Simon Water for the hours are lost each year in Africa nication from the Speaker: World Act of 2013 (H.R. 2901). alone—200 million hours today. WASHINGTON, DC, Since Congress passed the Paul Having water means girls can go to August 1, 2013. Simon Water for the Poor Act in 2005, school and build a better future. It also I hereby appoint the Honorable BILL the United States has become a global reduces the risk of violence and sexual HUIZENGA to act as Speaker pro tempore on leader in efforts to increase access to assault. A study by Doctors without this day. clean water and sanitation, developing Borders found that 82 percent of the JOHN A. BOEHNER, and implementing some of the most in- women and girls treated for rape in Speaker of the House of Representatives. novative approaches to help those in West and South Darfur were attacked f greatest need. We must not only main- while they were gathering water or MORNING-HOUR DEBATE tain this progress but work to further firewood. refine and focus the efforts at USAID The challenge is not getting easier, The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- and at the Department of State by en- because 97 percent of the water on ant to the order of the House of Janu- acting the World Act. Earth is salty and unfit to drink. Of ary 3, 2013, the Chair will now recog- We are committed because dirty the 21⁄2 percent, roughly, of the Earth’s nize Members from lists submitted by water and a lack of sanitation affects water that is fresh, two-thirds of that the majority and minority leaders for all areas of development assistance. is frozen—locked away in the ice caps morning-hour debate. This is especially the case when it and glaciers. Although it’s rapidly The Chair will alternate recognition comes to women and children. More melting because of climate change, between the parties, with each party children are killed by waterborne dis- that’s not going to help us, because it limited to 1 hour and each Member ease than any other. Increasing access will be largely salty as well. We’ve got other than the majority and minority to clean water and sanitation has a sig- less than 1 percent of global freshwater leaders and the minority whip limited nificant multiplier effect on other available for human use; and because of to 5 minutes each, but in no event shall areas of development, enabling us to do the demands for growing food, energy debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. more with less—critical in a time of and industry, only about one-tenth of a f constrained budget resources. percent is available for people to drink. Every day, the world has more people This tiny fraction is further diminished SENATOR PAUL SIMON WATER but fewer freshwater resources. Our bi- by deficient or nonexistent water infra- FOR THE WORLD ACT OF 2013 partisan legislation will give the structure. Even in the United States, (H.R. 2901) United States the capacity to avoid un- we waste 6 billion gallons of freshwater The SPEAKER pro tempore. The necessary loss of life and conflict in the every day through leaky pipes. We are Chair recognizes the gentleman from future. It would ensure that water, entering an era of severe water scar- Oregon (Mr. BLUMENAUER) for 5 min- sanitation, and hygiene programs are city that the Department of Defense utes. reflected in other development assist- warns could lead to global insecurity. Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, 5 ance; prioritize long-lasting impacts of In short, Mr. Speaker, there is noth- years ago, if someone asked what a bow United States foreign aid dollars; and ing more fundamental to families and tie-wearing progressive Democrat from increase the focusing on monitoring, global health than clean water and Oregon and my colleague TED POE, a evaluation, transparency, and capacity sanitation. More needs to be done, and cowboy, boot-wearing conservative Re- building. it needs to be done well. Taxpayers, un- publican from Texas, could agree on, Children cannot attend school if derstandably, demand better results you would have said, Not much. they’re sick from dirty water. Half the and greater transparency from foreign Today, we are partners on an issue, world’s hospital beds today are filled aid. This bill provides the tools and in- however, that makes sense regardless with people suffering from waterborne centives to do just that. 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. H5265 . VerDate Mar 15 2010 03:35 Oct 04, 2014 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\RECORD13\RECFILES\H01AU3.REC H01AU3 bjneal on DSK2TWX8P1PROD with CONG-REC-ONLINE H5266 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE August 1, 2013 We urge our colleagues to adopt our fore the March on Washington, in writ- movement that he was leading at the motto—‘‘politics stops at water’’—and ing from a Birmingham jail, he wrote time of the tragedy of his death and support this effort. This magnitude that African Americans had waited for that was, of course, the Poor People’s will take a team working together, more than 340 years for their constitu- March in 1968. united in the goal of saving lives and tional and God-given rights. I rise today to discuss that capacity improving communities around the King’s letter from a Birmingham jail and to say that I know that our world. Please join us in this critical could not be clearer in its articulation friends, Republicans and Democrats, legislation, the Paul Simon Water for of the moral status of law and the role can come together around important the World Act (H.R. 2901). that religion plays in a just society: service elements that this Nation en- f Now [King wrote] what is the difference be- gages in. The Federal Government is tween a ‘‘just’’ and an ‘‘unjust’’ law? How an umbrella on a rainy day. It is the 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF MARTIN does one determine whether a law is just or engine of the economy. It is the answer LUTHER KING, JR.’S MARCH ON unjust? A just law is a manmade code that to issues such as transportation and WASHINGTON squares with the moral law of God. An unjust housing. It really provides housing to The SPEAKER pro tempore. The law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. working families. It boosts the middle Chair recognizes the gentleman from class and poor families, and it gives Yes, Dr. King appealed to the Na- Pennsylvania (Mr. ROTHFUS) for 5 min- jobs to builders and contractors. So tion’s religious roots to encourage so- utes. that is why, I think, it was quite appro- cial change, and from a Birmingham Mr. ROTHFUS. Mr. Speaker, from priate for this, unfortunately, poorly jail, he encouraged individuals to con- time to time in our Nation’s history, driven and constructed Transportation, front unjust laws: people of faith have stepped forward to Housing and Urban Development ap- call this Nation to something greater. [T]here is nothing new [King wrote] about propriations bill to go to its timely this kind of civil disobedience. It was evi- This is steeped in our culture, our tra- death. dition, and our founding documents. It denced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of How can you with any compassion goes back to the cross at Cape Henry Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher cut so much money that you cut even and to the landing at Plymouth Rock. moral law was at stake. It was practiced su- the amount of money under the present You see it in our Declaration of Inde- perbly by the early Christians, who were budget, and you cut 9 percent below pendence and again in the movement willing to face hungry lions . rather than the level now mandated by the across- to abolish slavery. submit to certain unjust laws of the Roman the-board spending cuts by sequestra- Then, in the 1950s and 1960s, it was Empire. In our own Nation, the Boston tion? Tea Party represented a massive act of civil people of faith who birthed the new You went below that.