Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, today is World Toilet Day. The concept of a World Toilet Day can make children giggle, some adults blush, and others want to change the subject, but the title is designed to address this serious subject directly.
No one can afford to be squeamish, to make jokes, or change the subject about the fundamental issue of adequate sanitation because 2 and a half billion people live without it, causing about 700,000 premature deaths each year, and it is getting worse.
We have made some progress, but the number living without access has increased by 700 million people. There are now more people on Earth with a cell phone than a toilet.
The consequences of insufficient access to sanitation facilities and poor hygiene are severe. Countries where open defecation is more prevalent have found its way to the United States media recently, reporting on the horrific murder and rape of two young girls that could have been prevented in India if they didn't need to sneak out into the night to relieve themselves in an open field, leaving them vulnerable to attack.
A heartbreaking study linked the root cause of India's malnutrition crisis to a lack of adequate sanitation. It found that many of the 162 million children under the age of 5 who are malnourished in India are suffering less from a lack of food and more from poor sanitation. Those children who do survive are left with mental and physical burdens for their entire lives.
The lack of adequate sanitation is a human economic drain. The total global economic loss associated with inadequate water supply and sanitation is estimated to be over a quarter trillion dollars every year.
This crisis that leaves women vulnerable, needlessly ends lives early, and undermines economic growth does have solutions. Today, at noon, I will join my colleagues on implementation of the Water for the Poor Act we passed earlier to ensure that WASH programming helps leverage the impact of development assistance. It also ensures that our water, sanitation, and hygiene programs are targeted to help the world's poorest, that they are more effective with long-term sustainable impacts.
This bipartisan legislation, with my friend Ted Poe, has well over 100 cosponsors and is scheduled for a markup in the House Foreign Affairs Committee tomorrow.
This significant progress would not have even been possible without the leadership of Chairman Royce, and I thank him for it, along with the many advocates who have demonstrated why the United States must play a greater role to increase sustainable access to clean water and sanitation.
If passed out of committee, which I certainly hope it will, I would urge the House leadership to bring this bill to the floor for a vote immediately when we come back in session in December. That is because we cannot wait, and it is one of those rare bills we can all unite to get water, often dirty water, for their families. That is enough work hours to build 28 Empire State Buildings every day. This is time not spent working on income-generating jobs, caring for family members, or securing an education.
Ted Poe, a Republican, and I, a Democrat who represents Portlandia, don't often agree on a lot, but we are an example of how we can all come together because politics should stop at water.