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2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION SITE
Last updated on: 7/23/2020 12:46:16 PM PST

Should American Communities Have the Right to Clean Water?

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly declared access to clean water a human right on July 28, 2010. The UN stated, "The human right to water is indispensable for leading a life in human dignity. It is a prerequisite for the realization of other human rights."
Source: UN, "Water for Life Decade," un.org, May 29, 2014
Pro
Joe Biden
Biden
Howie Hawkins
Hawkins
Jo Jorgensen
Jorgensen

Con
Donald Trump
Trump
Not Clear or Not Found





Pro (Yes)

Pro
Joe Biden
Biden
Democrat

"Ensuring clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities – rural to urban, rich and poor – investing in the repair of water pipelines and sewer systems, replacement of lead service pipes, upgrade of treatment plants, and integration of efficiency and water quality monitoring technologies. This includes protecting our watersheds and clean water infrastructure from man-made and natural disasters by conserving and restoring wetlands and developing green infrastructure and natural solutions."

Source: Joe Biden, "The Biden Plan to Build a Modern, Sustainable Infrastructure and Equitable Clean Energy Future," joebiden.com (accessed July 21, 2020)
Pro
Howie Hawkins
Hawkins
Green

"Access to clean water is a human right. Our #Ecosocialist #GreenNewDeal will ensure clean, reliable drinking water for all, sanitary waste water disposal systems, and invest in water management infrastructure."

Source: Howie Hawkins, Twitter.com, May 21, 2020
Pro
Jo Jorgensen
Jorgensen
Libertarian

"Yes. Individuals have rights, not communities. Government shouldn’t stand in the way of individuals or businesses or communities to clean their water supplies or to make clean water more accessible. Wherever governments grant a monopoly on water delivery - allow only one company to deliver water through the pipes - that government has a responsibility to ensure the water is clean and accessible. When monopolistic government programs fail to deliver clean water, control should be removed from government and replaced with fully privatized solutions. "

Source: Communication from the Jorgensen campaign to ProCon.org on Sep. 8, 2020.
Con (No)

Con
Donald Trump
Trump
Republican

"I want clean air and clean water and have been making great strides in improving America’s environment."

Source: Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Dec. 4, 2018

[Editor's Note: On July 16, 2020, the Trump Administration rolled back rules within the Clean Water Act to limit the definition of federal waterways. The revisions were enacted to "[stop] the egregious abuse of the Clean Water Act, which extreme activists have used to shut down construction projects all across our country." according to Trump. Now, people and companies will no longer need to apply for federal permits to dump potentially harmful substances into some waterways.
Sources: Lisa Friedman and Coral Davenport, "Trump Administration Rolls Back Clean Water Protections," nytimes.com, Sep. 19, 2019
Donald Trump, "Remarks by President Trump on Rolling Back Regulations to Help All Americans," whitehouse.gov, July 16, 2020]



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