Press Release: House Representatives Call for Cuts in Bottled Water Spending

 

For Immediate Release: February 8, 2011

 

 

Boston, MA– Following calls to trim the budget as well as to live up to its sustainability goals, today members of the U.S. House of Representatives supported calls to cut bottled water spending on Capitol Hill.

 

The announcement came at an event releasing a report by the nonprofit Corporate Accountability International documenting that the House spent at least $860,000 on bottled water – or almost $2,000 for each House member – over a year’s time.

 

More than 65,000 messages asking House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) “to cut wasteful spending and eliminate bottled water purchases from the House budget” also were delivered and shared with reporters. The messages were gathered by Corporate Accountability International, Change.org and Food and Water Watch.

 

“Congress is spending almost a million dollars annually on bottled water for itself that often carries misleading claims of purity, when water of equal or better quality is available through the public drinking water system installed here in the House,” said Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC).  “Let’s start cutting close to home and shifting our priorities from an entirely unnecessary expense to reinvesting in our nation’s public water infrastructure.”

 

The study, “Tapping Congress to Get Off the Bottle,” examined the Congressional expenditures on bottled water from April 2009 through March 2010. It found that, if Congress redirected money spent on bottled water, it could purchase more than 4,000 drinking fountains, ‘bottle-less’ coolers and water filtration units on Capitol Hill – more than enough for each Congressional office and a one-time investment in water infrastructure that would show Americans that Congress is serious about saving money and supporting public water.

 

The study also found that 70 percent of the bottled water was purchased from industry leader Nestlé, with most of the remaining coming from bottlers DS Waters and Culligan.

 

“The bottled water industry has manufactured demand for an essential resource that already flows from our taps,” said Kristin Urquiza, Think Outside the Bottle Director for Corporate Accountability International. “The marketing has been so effective that even the national body responsible for funding and stewarding public tap water is unnecessarily spending close to a million each year on the bottle.”

 

“If fiscal responsibility is the aim of the incoming Congress, I would remind them that our tap water costs about a penny a gallon, and bottled water costs hundreds of times more,” said George S. Hawkins, general manager of the District of Columbia’s Water and Sewer Authority, who spoke at the report’s release today. “Choosing tap protects the environment, too, from the harms of plastic bottles.”

 

Bruce Williams, mayor of nearby Takoma Park, MD, attended the event. “Our city officials felt like we needed to step up our efforts to be a greener place, and one easy thing to do was to have city government get off the bottle,” he said. “We started with ourselves, voters appreciated that, and now it’s time for all of Congress to do the same.”

 

“When every penny counts, we cannot afford to spend taxpayer dollars on bottled water," said Environmental Working Group senior legislative analyst Jason Rano. "Instead, our leaders should focus on protecting and rebuilding our country's crumbling drinking water systems."

 

"Bottled water is an elaborate scam designed to strike fear among the public that tap water is somehow unsafe to drink," said Food and Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter. "This is a real opportunity for members of Congress to step up and demonstrate their faith in public tap water systems by slashing spending on wasteful, unnecessary bottled water from their budgets." 

 

The study recommends a series of actions by Congress:

To read the full report, visit: www.StopCorporateAbuse.org/CongressOfftheBottle

 

 

Corporate Accountability International (formerly Infact) is a membership organization that has, for the last 33 years, successfully advanced campaigns protecting health, the environment and human rights. Think Outside the Bottle is Corporate Accountability International’s national campaign to promote, protect and ensure public funding for the nation’s public water systems. 

 

 

“The bottled water buck stops here. As a new Member of Congress, I am transitioning our office water system into an in-office filtration system because bottled water is unnecessarily costly and in addition, purchasing it sends the wrong message about our public water supply.  In Providence, we phased out city spending on bottled water. As a Representative in Congress, I believe it is important to continue this commitment to promote our public water systems.”

 

“Our country is facing tough economic times that require everyone to tighten their belts, even Congress.  Recently the House of Representatives passed legislation to save paper and save money.  Corporate Accountability International‘s report shows how much taxpayer money Congress wastes by opening a bottle of water rather than turning on the tap.  I encourage my colleagues to set a fiscally and environmentally responsible standard by shelving the expensive bottled water and tapping into our clean, affordable public water systems.”

 

“Going green can save green, as my office has done, by eliminating the use of bottled water. In Texas we have learned the hard way about the value of public water resources. Switching away from bottled water can result in significant savings and waste reduction.”

 

“A new report, ‘Tapping Congress to Get Off the Bottle,’ from Corporate Accountability International highlights that small actions can have a significant impact.  I transitioned my office from bottled water to a filtration system nearly two years ago and have saved taxpayer dollars.  Losing money through purchasing bottled water, nearly half of which is from the tap, does not address our nation’s substantial need to invest in water infrastructure.  I applaud Corporate Accountability International for their work on highlighting ways Congress can decrease our carbon footprint and save Americans money.”

 

“My office switched several years ago from bottled water to an in-office filtration system that is far more cost effective, environmentally sound and more consistent with our office’s green agenda.  We would encourage all Members to forgo bottled water use in their offices and would support a policy that redirects funding from bottled water purchases to in-office filtration systems.”

 

“Corporate Accountability International’s ‘Tapping Congress to Get Off the Bottle’ reaffirms the common-sense notion that government can lead by example in prioritizing sustainability alongside responsible cost savings. Efforts to eliminate waste and “go green” by reducing our nation’s reliance on bottled water must be matched by a renewed commitment to rehabilitate and modernize public water systems. Investments in clean, safe, public drinking water are not only in our economic interest, but also provide substantial environmental and public health benefits for current and future generations.”

 

“Our city officials felt like we needed to step up our efforts to be a greener place, and one easy thing to do was to have city government get off the bottle. We started with ourselves, voters appreciated that, and now it’s time for all of Congress to do the same.”

 

"From my perspective, both as the Mayor of College Park, Maryland and as the Regional Director of Clean Water Action, the increased use of bottled water has troubling implications.  Federal, state and local funding efforts should prioritize cost-effective integrated water management investments, not band-aid solutions which contribute massive amounts of plastic into our waste stream while inadequately protecting public drinking water supplies."  

 

"Choosing tap...protects the  environment from the harms of plastic  bottles, and helps support investment  in the nation's drinking water  infrastructure." 

 

"Bottled water is an elaborate scam designed to strike fear among the public that tap water is somehow unsafe to drink. This is a real opportunity for members of Congress to step up and demonstrate their faith in public tap water systems by slashing spending on wasteful, unnecessary bottled water from their budgets."

 

“When every penny counts, we cannot afford to spend taxpayer dollars on bottled water. Instead, our leaders should focus on protecting and rebuilding our country's crumbling drinking water systems."