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Opening Remarks of U.S. Rep. Grace Napolitano
Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Water and Power Legislative Hearing on H.R. 716, H.R. 236, H.R. 1503 and H.R. 1725 May 17, 2007 Today we will hold legislative hearings on four bills on a subject that is of significant importance to me: Water Recycling. H.R. 716, H.R. 236, H.R. 1503 and H.R. 1725, when enacted would authorize limited federal financial assistance for four regional facilities that will recycle and distribute impaired water. The idea of recycling water is not new. In fact the first recycled water facility in my home state of California was built nearly 80 years ago. Fifteen years ago, Congress officially directed the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a water recycling program. The idea of the program we call "Title 16" was to identify opportunities for water recycling, and then make a limited amount of taxpayer money available to help communities in the West get their projects under construction. It is unfortunate that to date only 33 projects have been authorized to receive Federal funds, and only three projects have been completed. Mr. Quint, I welcome you here today, and I hope you will take back the message to the Commissioner and to OMB that this Congress is committed to water recycling in the Western United States, and we will insist that the Title XVI program be fully implemented and funded. Recycled water is an essential component to a balanced and sustainable water management portfolio for many Western communities. It is my hope that the Administration will get over its reluctance to implement the Title XVI program and will understand the significance of these bills and see the growing importance of water recycling in the West. I welcome our witnesses this morning and I look forward to their testimony. I am pleased to yield to my friend from Colorado Springs, the acting Ranking Minority Member of our Subcommittee, Congressman Doug Lamborn, for any statement he may have. |