The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“SAFE DRINKING WATER” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Senate section on pages S7877-S7878 on July 16, 1996.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
SAFE DRINKING WATER
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, there is an old adage that, ``You never miss the water until the well runs dry.'' I come to the Senate floor today to speak about an issue that is essential to the health and well-being of every American--safe drinking water. All life as we know it depends on the necessary element of water.
Most Americans take safe drinking water for granted. Most Americans just assume that when they turn on the faucet, clean water will automatically flow out of the faucet. They assume that there will always be easy access to an unlimited supply of clean, safe drinking water. Only recently, the residents of the District of Columbia discovered that safe drinking water is no longer one of life's certainties. They found themselves and their families to be quite unexpectedly vulnerable--vulnerable to a possible contaminated water supply. Washington officials announced that certain residents should boil water, and that the city would increase chlorine levels for several days to cleanse possible contaminates in aging water pipes. Although this condition was said to be only temporary, and it is reported that the water is now safe, an outcry of rage arose. District residents were annoyed. They were upset. They were inconvenienced.
The Washington Times of July 9, in an editorial, entitled ``Home rule stops at the water's edge,'' said, ``Safe drinking water is not optional in the capital of the most prosperous and powerful nation on the face of the Earth.'' Mr. President, the same thing can be said with reference to safe drinking water all over this country--it should not be optional. ``It is a fundamental element of modern civilization--such a given, in fact, that most Americans don't think twice about it.''
So, without doubt, the condition of the water system in Washington, DC, is an important matter. However, it is time that the citizens of the District and other cities be told about the frightening reality regarding much of our entire Nation's supply of drinking water--the reality that faces much of rural America every day. In my view, safe drinking water should not be optional anywhere in the most prosperous and powerful nation on the face of the Earth.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture completed Water 2000, a study of safe drinking water needs in the United States. I hope everyone will take note of the results. Incredibly, in these United States, nearly 3 million families, representing 8 million people, do not have access to safe drinking water. Now, let me repeat that, 8 million people in the United States of America, the greatest country on the face of the Earth, do not have access to a reliable source of clean drinking water. Every day, every night, millions of Americans cannot turn on their faucets and assume that the water is safe to drink. That, in my view, is a national disgrace.
Regrettably, in my own State of West Virginia, the study reports that it would take $162 million to clean up and provide potable water to approximately 79,000 West Virginians. It would take another $405 million to meet the worsening drinking water supply situation of some 476,000 West Virginians. That's nearly half of the population of my State. Nearly half of the people in my state have cause for concern about their water supply. And many other States are facing a similar serious situation.
Sadly, the United States Congress has chosen not to help. During debate on the budget resolution, I made two attempts to restore some of the funding for our national infrastructure that is being carelessly axed at every turn. I offered an amendment that would restore $65 billion to the Federal budget for domestic infrastructure--water and sewer needs, bridges and highways, our national parks, and so forth. Regrettably, this Senate voted 61 to 39 in favor of $65 billion in corporate tax loopholes, rather than for basic infrastructure needs of this Nation. I tried again, offering a second amendment, one that would restore $1.5 billion specifically for Federal water and sewer programs, but this Senate again said no by a vote of 54 to 45. This very Senate said no to a most basic need--clean, drinkable water.
Given the sad outcome of my attempts in the Senate to restore common sense to the budget priorities of this Nation, I am pleased to acknowledge the efforts, which I strongly support, of the Clinton administration to provide safe drinking water to Americans. Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has reallocated $2.8 million for four water supply projects in West Virginia, and $70 million for projects throughout the United States. This is a very small step to be sure, national safe drinking water needs are assessed at some $10 billion.
But, I come to the Senate floor today to congratulate public service districts in four counties of West Virginia for finally securing funds that will help to provide adequate, safe drinking water systems to some of their rural residents in greatest need. I want those families to know that I care, and that I am pleased, very pleased, by the Department's announcement today. To families in West Virginia covered by the following public service districts--Page-Kincaid in Fayette County, Leadsville in Randolph, Downs in Marion, and Red Sulphur in Monroe County--I would like to say that finally there is some relief on the way.
Finally, at least these town residents will enjoy a basic standard of living that people residing in the United States of America ought to be able to expect. Finally, these communities will have the beginnings of an infrastructure which might encourage businesses to locate there. Finally, at least some of the residents in communities in my State will be free to offer a child a sip of water from the tap without fear.
I sometimes seriously wonder about the priorities in this Senate. We often blithely ignore the real-life, day-to-day essential needs of our own citizens. The need for 8 million Americans to confidently use water for drinking, cooking, and recreation ought to be a birthright. There ought never to be any question about government's doing all that it can in the first place, before there is a crisis, to insure that Americans have safe drinking water.
While this announcement is only a small victory for West Virginia and other rural communities across the Nation, I want to recognize this occasion. For those residents within Fayette, Randolph, Marion, and Monroe Counties, this is no doubt a most significant event.
I am also heartened by the increased levels of funding in the 1997 Agriculture appropriations bill, wherein the Senate added $231 million above the House level for rural development grant and loan programs, including water and sewer facilities, bringing the total for rural development programs to $5.7 billion.
All of this will help, but it is high time that Members of this body wake up and focus on the looming water quality crises in this Nation.
This could be your water, coming from your household faucet in your city or your town next month or next year. We cannot ask the American people to put up with this sort of outrage any longer.
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