Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. Chairman, although I had planned to withdraw my amendment, I feel it is important to discuss the Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Funds and the benefits these funds provide to our Nation.

Droughts are becoming more severe, which is putting an incredible strain on our water supply in California, and in my district, where we are experiencing a historic drought for the last 4 years. We have to manage our available water in smart and efficient ways.

We lose an estimated 7 billion gallons of water a day from leaking pipes, with some cities losing as much as 30 percent of their water. At the same time, these cracks expose the water supply to an increasing number of waterborne diseases and contaminants. This means utilities face considerable challenges as they try to provide both adequate and safe drinking water to families and businesses.

Upgrading our infrastructure would save trillions of gallons of water a year and make our water safer to drink, but the best part is that, according to the American Water Works Association, there are already enough shovel-ready water projects around the United States that would create work for more than 400,000 Americans, including almost 90,000 direct construction jobs. These are jobs that would be welcomed with open arms in our towns and cities across the United States.

Our Nation's water infrastructure is in desperate need of repair. According to an infrastructure needs survey by the EPA, nearly $335 billion worth of repairs, upgrades, and replacements are needed by water systems in the next 20 years to continue providing safe drinking water and protecting public health. Almost $300 billion is needed to repair and replace wastewater and storm water pipes and treatment plants.

Furthermore, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies estimate that utilities will need to spend $448 billion to $944 billion by 2050 just to deal with climate change impacts.

Considering the significant water infrastructure needs our country is facing, the Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Funds have never been more important

These funds help finance projects that handle and treat domestic sewage and storm water and deliver drinking water to homes and businesses. These infrastructure investments also create jobs and have a positive impact on the economy well beyond the amount spent.

Unfortunately, the bill proposes significant--and I want to repeat that--significant reductions to drinking water SFRs and over a $400 million cut in the Clean Water Act sewage treatment SFRs.

The Nation's water infrastructure needs already exceed the available funding, and cutting the revolving funds by this much means that a greater number of deserving community projects will not be able to get done. This approach will only imperil our infrastructure and our healthy communities that it helps foster.

Congress should commit to providing the necessary funding to maintain and upgrade our Nation's ailing water infrastructure and make sure that the green infrastructure is a critical part of that process.

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My State of California is doing its best to cope with a severe and ongoing drought, and Congress must do its best to fund and support the needed infrastructure and water quality enhancements that preserve our precious water resources and create a sustainable system.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment.

The Acting CHAIR. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from California?

There was no objection.

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