[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 266 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 266
Expressing the sense of the Congress with regard to the world's
freshwater resources.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 6, 2007
Ms. Schakowsky submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the
Committees on Ways and Means and Financial Services, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress with regard to the world's
freshwater resources.
Whereas the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
established March 22nd as World Water Day to promote the international
observance of water as a human right;
Whereas available freshwater represents less than one-half of 1 percent of the
world's total water stock;
Whereas global consumption of water is doubling every 20 years, more than twice
the rate of human population growth;
Whereas 31 countries currently face water shortages with another 17 likely to be
added to this list by 2025;
Whereas more than 1,000,000,000 people already lack adequate access to safe
drinking water; 2,500,000,000 people have no access to proper sanitation
and more than 5,000,000 people, mostly children, die each year from
water-related diseases;
Whereas the United Nations Millennium Development Goals call for reducing by
one-half the number of those without safe drinking water and sanitation
by the year 2015;
Whereas international trade agreements threaten sustainable and local management
of water;
Whereas the poorest pay the highest price to access water;
Whereas civil society often have little say in water policy priorities;
Whereas the people of the United States have often expressed their compassionate
desire to assist those in most need;
Whereas international financial institutions, institutions that receive
significant U.S. funds, focus on private sector management of water that
has been deemed a failure in providing access to the poor;
Whereas the Water for the Poor Act of 2005 calls on the United States Congress
to significantly increase and prioritize water provision in United
States international programs;
Whereas countries around the world have ratified international human rights
agreements and enacted national constitutional provisions and laws
enshrining the human right to water;
Whereas member States acting in human rights institutions of the United Nations
have affirmed the human right to water calling upon all governments to
take steps to ensure that a sufficient amount of good quality,
affordable water be made available for all within a reasonable distance
from a person's home;
Whereas the United Nations Human Development Report of 2007 calls on all
governments to recognize the human right to water, prioritize and fund
water and sanitation in national budgets, provide international
assistance for water projects and develop a strong global plan of
action; and
Whereas the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change forecasts increased
difficulty in improving access to safe drinking water and additional
costs to the water services sector from changing water levels and
contamination: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That Congress--
(1) asserts that water management priorities should reflect
the goals of safeguarding and sustaining water resources;
(2) affirms water as a public trust and global public good
that should not be treated as a private commodity where this
would limit or deny public access to freshwater resources;
(3) affirms that the United States Congress firmly commits
itself to meet the Millennium Development Goals, especially as
they pertain to universal, sustainable access to safe and
affordable water;
(4) affirms that access to international loans and debt
reduction programs should not be conditioned on implementing
increased cost recovery policies when those policies would
result in significantly increased water rates that reduce
access to safe drinking water and sanitation;
(5) asserts that the United States Executive Directors of
international financial institutions should not approve loans
that require increased cost recovery, or water privatization or
public-private partnerships that would result in significant
increases in consumer water fees or in other ways restrict
affordable access to water;
(6) asserts that Federal policies should ensure that in the
United States direct and indirect sources of water pollution,
including factories, refineries, commercial agriculture, and
wastewater treatment plants, are adequately regulated and those
responsible held accountable for the pollution they cause;
(7) deems that Federal funding not be conditioned on the
consideration of public/private partnerships or other forms of
privatization that would restrict affordable access to water;
(8) upholds the principle that governments should engage
all members of society, including local civil society
organizations, citizen associations, environmental groups,
indigenous peoples, farmers, women, workers, and others, in
direct and meaningful participation in overseeing decisions
about the conservation, distribution, use, and management of
water in their communities, localities, and regions;
(9) recommends that international, regional, and bilateral
trade agreements should not include conditions related to the
provision of water for human use that would result in reduced
access to water;
(10) recognizes the need to fully fund the Water for the
Poor Act of 2007 to ensure that all individuals, especially
those in most need, have equitable access to safe and
affordable water; and
(11) recognizes the human right to water as fundamental for
life and health, and sufficient and safe drinking water is a
precondition for the realization of all other human rights.
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