by Lisa Lambert

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - The Bush administration has failed to adequately fund or uphold a 2005 initiative to give poor countries access to fresh water, U.S. lawmakers and nonprofit groups said on Wednesday.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, an Oregon Democrat, told a hearing that the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development misrepresented how they spent $200 million for the plan last year and have given short shrift to sub-Saharan Africa.

The State Department used most of the funds for reconstruction work in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the United States is waging wars, he said. In an earlier letter, Blumenauer wrote that it only spent $10 million for water in sub-Saharan Africa, where the United Nations says 42 percent of the population lacks clean water.

The Water for the Poor Act was intended to ensure long-term projects would provide water where it is needed most, Blumenauer and others argued.

"We did not pass the Water for the War Act but the Water for the Poor Act," said Rep. Donald Payne, a Democrat from New Jersey who chairs the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health.

Claudia McMurray, an assistant secretary of state, and Walter North from USAID fended off the criticism.

"The Water for the Poor strategy is still a work in progress and I want to underline that," McMurray said. "Even with a comprehensive U.S. water strategy, though, we must keep in mind the United States alone cannot solve the global water problem."

About 2 million people around the world die each year from diarrhea brought on by unclean water, which can also spread hepatitis, cholera and malaria, according to the World Health Organization. About 5,000 children under 5 die each day from problems related to poor water, according to the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF.

When Payne asked why President Bush requested $71 million for water and sanitation assistance, a cut from previous allotments, in his recent budget proposal, North answered that after counting all related programs and budget items he would find the request is closer to $200 million.

Geoff Dabelko, who has researched the issue for the Wilson Center, a nonpartisan institute established by Congress, said many ongoing programs were relabeled to appear to conform with the law, which has troubled critics.

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