Healthy Communities Water Supply Act of 2007
HEALTHY COMMUNITIES WATER SUPPLY ACT OF 2007
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Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank Chairmen Oberstar and Johnson and Ranking Members Mica and Baker for their leadership on clean water issues and for their work to bring the legislation we are considering today to the floor. In addition, I would like to thank my colleague and good friend, Mrs. Tauscher, for supporting this legislation with me. Mrs. Tauscher and I have adjoining districts in California, and we have similar water needs.
My bill, H.R. 700, the Healthy Communities Water Supply Act of 2007, is straightforward and helpful legislation that I hope both parties will support.
Everyone recognizes the need for clean water. It does not matter whether you live in a city or in the rural, it does not matter what your political persuasion is. We all need clean water. Therefore, it is vitally important to identify new water sources for use in agriculture, industry and for residential consumption.
In the past, the State Revolving Loan Funds and Clean Water Act construction grants were available for identifying new water sources. But communities now increasingly depend on those funds just to provide for the maintenance and upkeep of existing water infrastructure, rather than finding new and potentially less expensive water supplies.
H.R. 700 will provide $125 million so that local governments can innovate to collect, clean and distribute new sources of water. The Healthy Communities Water Supply Act will encourage municipalities, public and private water agencies and nonprofit organizations to find ways to provide new sources of water.
For the small investment of Federal funding provided in this bill, we can spur innovation in water resources and move towards solving the increasingly pressing need to ensure clean water for drinking, for family farms, for businesses and for households.
H.R. 700 encourages innovation by funding pilot projects and forward-thinking ideas that lead to practical solutions, which can be applied across the board. This legislation means jobs in local communities by spurring the kind of research that can create new businesses and make our towns and cities more livable at the same time.
The constant threat of drought in the Western States, along with the reality of global warming, emphasizes why the Healthy Communities Water Supply Act of 2007 is so important. We must begin to investigate alternative water sources now, so that we can make strides in ensuring that we have water that we need in the future.
I am hopeful that we can move quickly to pass H.R. 700 and to work with the other body so we can provide water relief for our communities.
Again, I urge all my colleagues to support the Healthy Communities Water Supply Act.
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