Senator Menendez, stand up for clean water

To the Editor:

I am a volunteer for The Borgen Project, a non-profit organization that believes that the U.S. should be leading efforts to address global poverty. There are millions of people around the world who are unfortunately living in extreme poverty and do not have access to safe drinking water or sanitation. Even in these hard economic times, reducing global poverty is in the United States’ best interest, as it promotes global security, health, economic growth, and political stability.

In March 2011, Illinois Senator Richard Durbin introduced the Water for the World Act 2011, or S.641, which has since been referred to the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. S.641 would provide 100,000,000 more people with access to safe drinking water and sanitation on a sustainable basis within six years.

New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg is already a co-sponsor of S.641. I urge New Jersey residents to call Senator Robert Menendez at his Newark Office at (973) 645-3030, and ask him to co-sponsor and support S.641.

- Joshua Fine
Highland Park