Date: 2009-03-12
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank my friend. the gentleman from New York . for the time. and I yield myself such time as I may consume. American taxpayers have invested billions of dollars in our sewage treatment. infrastructure resulting in decades of progress in reducing waterborne illness from contaminated drinkingwater. By the way. Mr. Speaker. if you look at the history of the 20th century. the single factor that contributed most to public health in the United States. and in the developed world generally. was the development. the spreading. if you will. throughout society of the ability of people to have access to clean water. clean drinking water. And so what were dealing with today is perhaps more important than at first glance. it seems. Now. unfortunately. whenever there has been. for example. an accidental breach in sewage treatment facilities. we see the repercussions of polluted water to public health. to our communities. and also to important industries such as tourism. That is why it is sound economic and environmental policy to invest in effective sewage treatment that ensures that the United States continues to have a healthy and vibrant aquatic ecosystem and clean water. But the cost for these systems is expensive. In south Florida. the MiamiDade Water and Sewer Department evaluated its wastewater needs through the year 2020 and determined that in order to maintain adequate transmission systems capability. treatment. disposal and the prevention of sanitary sewer overflows. that department alone in south Florida would have to spend over $2 billion. The cause of many sanitary sewer overflow events is that the infrastructure is failing due to structural deterioration and corrosion. So Federal funding. such as is provided in the Water Quality Investment Act of 2009. will give additional assistance to proactively identify the infrastructure requiring replacement prior to failure: Included in the underlying bill is $13.8 billion in Federal grants over 5 years to capitalize the Clean Water State Revolving Funds for the construction of publicly owned wastewater treatment works and other wastewater infrastructure. And it provides lowinterest loans to communities for wastewater infrastructure. These grants will encourage communities to consider alternative and innovative processes. materials. and technologies that maximize the potential for efficient water use. reuse. and conservation. I would like to thank Chairman OERSTAR and Ranking Member MICA for their hard work on this important bill that will help to keep our water safe and healthy and will also keep our ecosystem clean of wastewater. Mr. Speaker. as you know. the underlying legislation consolidates five bills that passed the House in the 110th Congress. In the 110th Congress. the House considered two of these bills under modified rules. The majority set a precedent. thus. that these bills should be considered under at least modified open rules. Modified open rules allow Members in the House to debate and consider all amendments that are preprinted in the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD. So why not do the same today? Those two bills. even with a modified open rule. easily passed the House. So is the majority so afraid of debate that. even on a noncontroversial bill like this. they feelthey must restrict debate? Its a shame. It is unfortunate that the majority continues to backpedal on the open debate precedenteven that they themselves set. Yet. considering the way the majority has run. this House in the last Congress and in this Congress. its not a surprise. it is just the way the majority conducts business. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.