State Department reception honors water legislation

Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) speaking at the State Department reception. Photo: Judah Ariel

July 16, 2007

Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) were honored by the State Department last month for their efforts in passing the Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005.

Church World Service and other organizations working throughout the world to help ensure the availability of clean water and sanitation where it is most needed were invited to the reception, sponsored by the Millennium Water Alliance. The CWS Education & Advocacy Program has collaborated with Rep. Blumenauer's office and advocated with other members of Congress for full implementation and funding of the Water for the Poor Act.

In June the House and Senate Foreign Operations Appropriations committees voted for $300 million for clean water and sanitation in 2008 for programs consistent with the Act, a $100 million increase over 2007 water funding. While this amount is far from sufficient for the need, it is a positive step and reflects a growing awareness in Congress of the reality that more than 1 billion people lack affordable access to clean water and almost 2.5 billion do not have proper sanitation facilities.

Through its Water for All Campaign, Church World Service is:

• Enabling access to, and provision of, potable water through local and global partnerships
• Supporting community-based water projects and building local community capacity to inform national water and sanitation policies
• Providing a collective ecumenical voice in global public debate on water and sanitation issues
• Advocating for access to, and provision of, water as critical to achieving the Millennium Development Goals
• Building grassroots support for Congressional legislation that supports universal access to water worldwide.