On the heels of Live 8 and G8, issues of extreme poverty and malnutrition are receiving unprecedented media, and political attention. But in the upcoming weeks, the U.S. Congress will consider an important piece of foreign policy legislation—dealing with these pertinent issues—which the mainstream press will almost certainly avoid.

The Water for the Poor Act is significant for a number of reasons. To begin with, the bipartisan work of Sens. Bill Frist, R-Tenn. and Harry Reid, D-Nev.; Reps. Earl Blumenauer. D-Ore, James Leach, R-Iowa, and others, in introducing the act is a demonstration of how U.S. foreign policy once was, and how the American public would like it to be. Of equal significance, however, is that the legislation tackles, head on, one of the world’s worst problems: the global water crisis.

Although relatively unknown in the Western world, the global water crisis represents a serious geopolitical and humanitarian quandary. Today, one child dies every 15 seconds from a water-related disease. That’s 3,000 to 5,000 children a day and up to 5 million young lives lost each year. The World Health Organization estimates that 1.2 billion people live their daily lives without access to clean water, and 2.4 billion people lack adequate sanitation. Reducing this number of needless victims could be accomplished by a greater commitment to foreign aid on the part of the United States and the developed world. This goal must be realized, especially when one considers the costs that lack of water and sanitation inflicts on an already-impoverished society.

Solving the global water crisis is necessary for impoverished nations to stabilize, develop and avoid becoming breeding grounds for conflict and terrorism. According to the U.N. Task Force on Water and Sanitation, more than “half the people in the developing world are suffering from one or more of the main diseases associated with inadequate provision of water supply and sanitation.” With the majority of the population crippled by disease, faltering nations cannot keep the peace, provide education and jobs or develop economies—much less give hope to those already suffering.

The Water for the Poor Act would make providing access to clean water and basic sanitation a cornerstone of U.S. foreign aid. The bill employs simple policy for a very complex problem. As such, it is the beginning rather than the end of a viable solution. However, it would help show the world that the United States keeps its promises. In 2002, for example, at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, the United States and 185 other nations pledged to halve the number of people worldwide without access to clean water and basic sanitation by 2015.

While this legislation is extremely important, equally if not more significant is the spirit of cooperation that made it possible. The collaboration of Majority Leader Bill Frist and Minority Leader Harry Reid, in particular, demonstrates that ideological opposites and frequent opponents can and should find common ground to work together for America’s interests. It also serves as a welcome reminder that bipartisanship is possible and productive even in such a bitterly polarized Congress.

The kind of principled cooperation that gave impetus to the Water for the Poor Act is absolutely necessary if we are to address the many challenges facing both America and the world today. In the past, America had visionary leaders who recognized that partisanship ended at our nation’s shores. Presidents like Franklin D. Roosevelt, George H. W. Bush, Dwight Eisenhower and Bill Clinton articulated foreign policy values that united Americans, rather than dividing them. But today, partisanship, not principal, too often governs our nation’s foreign policy, usually with damaging consequences.

The Water for Poor Act should serve as a wake-up call to policymakers: If we are to achieve our foreign policy objectives, our leaders in Congress and the White House must stop looking for scapegoats and start working together. A return to the old adage, ‘politics stop at the water’s edge’ is sorely needed.
 

Don Kraus is executive vice president of Citizens for Global Solutions .

Dominic Holt, an Edward Rawson Fellow at Citizens for Global Solutions, contributed to this piece

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