Norton to Speak at Press Conference Urging Congress to Swear Off Bottled Water and Use Tap Water

Norton to Speak at Press Conference Urging Congress to Swear Off Bottled Water and Encourage Use of Tap Water

February 8, 2011

WASHINGTON, DC - Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) at a press conference with D.C. Water General Manager George Hawkins and Corporate Accountability International today at 11 a.m. in 1327 Longworth House Office Building will discuss why her office "jumped on the wagon" to become bottle-free, and will call on Congress to give credibility to its effort to cut spending by cutting its own "bottled water binge" in the House.

"Tap water is not perfect, but it is subject to rigorous testing for contaminants, such as E. coli, unlike bottled water," Norton said. "Americans have had safe drinking water for more than a century, but men put a price on a public commodity, bottled it, and contaminated the environment with the containers. It is time for Congress to lead by example and cut the cost, stop the waste, and drink the safe water closest at hand."

Corporate Accountability International launched the Think Outside the Bottle campaign to educate, promote, and protect public funding for public water systems. Since the campaign's launch, hundreds of universities, businesses, and local and state governments have signed the pledge Norton signed today, to protect the environment and eliminate wasteful spending by using safe, regulated public water systems.