Last week, hundreds of Food & Water Watch activists wrote their Members of Congress in favor of the Water Quality Financing Act of 2007 (H.R. 720). We're happy to let you know that it passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday, March 9, 303 to 108!

America’s water will be cleaner and safer because of this critical funding for the nations pipes and treatment plants. The authorization of $14 billion over the next four years represents a critical first step in closing the $22 billion annual gap between available funds and what is needed to ensure that America’s drinking water and freshwater sources meet minimum standards established by the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act.

Congresswoman Edie Bernice Johnson, chair of the Water and Environment Subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure said

“Unless we make the investment to improve local capacity for wastewater treatment, we stand to lose much of the progress we have achieved in cleaning up the nation’s water thus far.”

Click here to see how your Representative voted. If they voted yeay, send them a note thanking them for their vote. If they voted no, let them know what you think.

Since an annual political battle over funding for something as basic to life as water makes no sense, Food & Water Watch is advocating for the creation of a national trustfund to provide dedicated funding for water.

Editors Note: Wondering why we put the bill number in the title?  That's how OpenCongress.org finds blog entries. You can track all your favorite legislation there whether food, water or fish.