One Hundred Ninth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the fourth day of January, two thousand and five
An Act
To make access to safe water and sanitation for developing countries
a specific policy objective of the United States foreign assistance programs,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act
of 2005'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Water-related diseases are a human tragedy, killing up to five million
people annually, preventing millions of people from leading healthy lives,
and undermining development efforts.
(2) A child dies an average of every 15 seconds because of lack of access
to safe water and adequate sanitation.
(3) In the poorest countries in the world, one out of five children dies
from a preventable, water-related disease.
(4) Lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation, and
poor hygiene practices are directly responsible for the vast majority
of diarrheal diseases which kill over two million children each year.
(5) At any given time, half of all people in the developing world are
suffering from one or more of the main diseases associated with inadequate
provision of water supply and sanitation services.
(6) Over 1.1 billion people, one in every six people in the world, lack
access to safe drinking water.
(7) Nearly 2.6 billion people, two in every five people in the world,
lack access to basic sanitation services.
(8) Half of all schools in the world do not have access to safe drinking
water and basic sanitation.
(9) Over the past 20 years, two billion people have gained access to safe
drinking water and 600 million people have gained access to basic sanitation
services.
(10) Access to safe water and sanitation and improved hygiene are significant
factors in controlling the spread of disease in the developing world and
positively affecting worker productivity and economic development.
(11) Increasing access to safe water and sanitation advances efforts toward
other development objectives, such as fighting poverty and hunger, promoting
primary education and gender equality, reducing child mortality, promoting
environmental stability, improving the lives of slum dwellers, and strengthening
national security.
(12) Providing safe supplies of water and sanitation and hygiene improvements
would save millions of lives by reducing the prevalence of water-borne
diseases, water-based diseases, water-privation diseases, and water-related
vector diseases.
(13) Because women and girls in developing countries are often the carriers
of water, lack of access to safe water and sanitation disproportionately
affects women and limits women's opportunities at education, livelihood,
and financial independence.
(14) Between 20 percent and 50 percent of existing water systems in developing
countries are not operating or are operating poorly.
(15) In developing world water delivery systems, an average of 50 percent
of all water is lost before it gets to the end-user.
(16) Every $1 invested in safe water and sanitation would yield an economic
return of between $3 and $34, depending on the region.
(17) Developing sustainable financing mechanisms, such as pooling mechanisms
and revolving funds, is necessary for the long-term viability of improved
water and sanitation services.
(18) The annual level of investment needed to meet the water and sanitation
needs of developing countries far exceeds the amount of Official Development
Assistance (ODA) and spending by governments of developing countries,
so facilitating and attracting greater public and private investment is
essential.
(19) Meeting the water and sanitation needs of the lowest-income developing
countries will require an increase in the resources available as grants
from donor countries.
(20) The long-term sustainability of improved water and sanitation services
can be advanced by promoting community level action and engagement with
civil society.
(21) Target 10 of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals is to
reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to
safe drinking water by 2015.
(22) The participants in the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development,
held in Johannesburg, South Africa, including the United States, agreed
to the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development
which included an agreement to work to reduce by one-half `the proportion
of people who are unable to reach or afford safe drinking water,' and
`the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation' by 2015.
(23) At the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the United States
announced the Water for the Poor Initiative, committing $970 million for
fiscal years 2003 through 2005 to improve sustainable management of fresh
water resources and accelerate and expand international efforts to achieve
the goal of cutting in half by 2015 the proportion of people who are unable
to reach or to afford safe drinking water.
(24) United Nations General Assembly Resolution 58/217 (February 9, 2004)
proclaimed `the period from 2005 to 2015 the International Decade for
Action, `Water for Life', to commence on World Water Day, 22 March 2005'
for the purpose of increasing the focus of the international community
on water-related issues at all levels and on the implementation of water-related
programs and projects.
(25) Around the world, 263 river basins are shared by two or more countries,
and many more basins and watersheds cross political or ethnic boundaries.
(26) Water scarcity can contribute to insecurity and conflict on subnational,
national, and international levels, thus endangering the national security
of the United States.
(27) Opportunities to manage water problems can be leveraged in ways to
build confidence, trust, and peace between parties in conflict.
(28) Cooperative water management can help resolve conflicts caused by
other problems and is often a crucial component in resolving such conflicts.
(29) Cooperative water management can help countries recover from conflict
and, by promoting dialogue and cooperation among former parties in conflict,
can help prevent the reemergence of conflict.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States--
(1) to increase the percentage of water and sanitation assistance targeted
toward countries designated as high priority countries under section 6(f)
of this Act;
(2) to ensure that water and sanitation assistance reflect an appropriate
balance of grants, loans, contracts, investment insurance, loan guarantees,
and other assistance to further ensure affordability and equity in the
provision of access to safe water and sanitation for the very poor;
(3) to ensure that the targeting of water and sanitation assistance reflect
an appropriate balance between urban, periurban, and rural areas to meet
the purposes of assistance described in section 135 of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961, as added by section 5(a) of this Act;
(4) to ensure that forms of water and sanitation assistance provided reflect
the level of existing resources and markets for investment in water and
sanitation within recipient countries;
(5) to ensure that water and sanitation assistance, to the extent possible,
supports the poverty reduction strategies of recipient countries and,
when appropriate, encourages the inclusion of water and sanitation within
such poverty reduction strategies;
(6) to promote country and local ownership of safe water and sanitation
programs, to the extent appropriate;
(7) to promote community-based approaches in the provision of affordable
and equitable access to safe water and sanitation, including the involvement
of civil society;
(8) to mobilize and leverage the financial and technical capacity of businesses,
governments, nongovernmental organizations, and civil society in the form
of public-private alliances;
(9) to encourage reforms and increase the capacity of foreign governments
to formulate and implement policies that expand access to safe water and
sanitation in an affordable, equitable, and sustainable manner, including
integrated strategic planning; and
(10) to protect the supply and availability of safe water through sound
environmental management, including preventing the destruction and degradation
of ecosystems and watersheds.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) in order to make the most effective use of amounts of Official Development
Assistance for water and sanitation and avoid waste and duplication, the
United States should seek to establish innovative international coordination
mechanisms based on best practices in other development sectors; and
(2) the United States should greatly increase the amount of Official Development
Assistance made available to carry out section 135 of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961, as added by section 5(a) of this Act.
SEC. 5. ASSISTANCE TO PROVIDE SAFE WATER AND SANITATION.
(a) In General- Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
(22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new
section:
`SEC. 135. ASSISTANCE TO PROVIDE SAFE WATER AND SANITATION.
`(a) Purposes- The purposes of assistance authorized by this section are--
`(1) to promote good health, economic development, poverty reduction,
women's empowerment, conflict prevention, and environmental sustainability
by providing assistance to expand access to safe water and sanitation,
promoting integrated water resource management, and improving hygiene
for people around the world;
`(2) to seek to reduce by one-half from the baseline year 1990 the proportion
of people who are unable to reach or afford safe drinking water and the
proportion of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015;
`(3) to focus water and sanitation assistance toward the countries, locales,
and people with the greatest need;
`(4) to promote affordability and equity in the provision of access to
safe water and sanitation for the very poor, women, and other vulnerable
populations;
`(5) to improve water efficiency through water demand management and reduction
of unaccounted-for water;
`(6) to promote long-term sustainability in the affordable and equitable
provision of access to safe water and sanitation through the creation
of innovative financing mechanisms such as national revolving funds, and
by strengthening the capacity of recipient governments and communities
to formulate and implement policies that expand access to safe water and
sanitation in a sustainable fashion, including integrated planning;
`(7) to secure the greatest amount of resources possible, encourage private
investment in water and sanitation infrastructure and services, particularly
in lower middle-income countries, without creating unsustainable debt
for low-income countries or unaffordable water and sanitation costs for
the very poor; and
`(8) to promote the capacity of recipient governments to provide affordable,
equitable, and sustainable access to safe water and sanitation.
`(b) Authorization- To carry out the purposes of subsection (a), the President
is authorized to furnish assistance for programs in developing countries
to provide affordable and equitable access to safe water and sanitation.
`(c) Activities Supported- Assistance provided under subsection (b) shall,
to the maximum extent practicable, be used to--
`(1) expand affordable and equitable access to safe water and sanitation
for underserved populations;
`(2) support the design, construction, maintenance, upkeep, repair, and
operation of water delivery and sanitation systems;
`(3) improve the safety and reliability of water supplies, including environmental
management; and
`(4) improve the capacity of recipient governments and local communities,
including capacity-building programs for improved water resource management.
`(d) Local Currency- The President may use payments made in local currencies
under an agreement made under title I of the Agricultural Trade Development
and Assistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to provide assistance
under this section.'.
(b) Conforming Amendment- Section 104(c) of the Agricultural Trade Development
and Assistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C. 1704(c)) is amended by adding at the
end the following new paragraph:
`(9) SAFE WATER AND SANITATION- To provide assistance under section 135
of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to promote good health, economic
development, poverty reduction, women's empowerment, conflict prevention,
and environmental sustainability by increasing affordable and equitable
access to safe water and sanitation.'.
SEC. 6. SAFE WATER AND SANITATION STRATEGY.
(a) Strategy- The President, acting through the Secretary of State, shall
develop a strategy to further the United States foreign assistance objective
to provide affordable and equitable access to safe water and sanitation
in developing countries, as described in section 135 of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961, as added by section 5(a) of this Act.
(b) Consultation- The strategy required by subsection (a) shall be developed
in consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development, the heads of other appropriate Federal departments and agencies,
international organizations, international financial institutions, recipient
governments, United States and international nongovernmental organizations,
indigenous civil society, and other appropriate entities.
(c) Implementation- The Secretary of State, acting through the Administrator
of the United States Agency for International Development, shall implement
the strategy required by subsection (a). The strategy may also be implemented
in part by other Federal departments and agencies, as appropriate.
(d) Consistent With Safe Water and Sanitation Policy- The strategy required
by subsection (a) shall be consistent with the policy stated in section
3 of this Act.
(e) Content- The strategy required by subsection (a) shall include--
(1) an assessment of the activities that have been carried out, or that
are planned to be carried out, by all appropriate Federal departments
and agencies to improve affordable and equitable access to safe water
and sanitation in all countries that receive assistance from the United
States;
(2) specific and measurable goals, benchmarks, and timetables to achieve
the objective described in subsection (a);
(3) an assessment of the level of funding and other assistance for United
States water and sanitation programs needed each year to achieve the goals,
benchmarks, and timetables described in paragraph (2);
(4) methods to coordinate and integrate United States water and sanitation
assistance programs with other United States development assistance programs
to achieve the objective described in subsection (a);
(5) methods to better coordinate United States water and sanitation assistance
programs with programs of other donor countries and entities to achieve
the objective described in subsection (a); and
(6) an assessment of the commitment of governments of countries that receive
assistance under section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as
added by section 5(a) of this Act, to policies or policy reforms that
support affordable and equitable access by the people of such countries
to safe water and sanitation.
(f) Designation of High Priority Countries- The strategy required by subsection
(a) shall further include the designation of high priority countries for
assistance under section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added
by section 5(a) of this Act. This designation shall be made on the basis
of--
(1) countries in which the need for increased access to safe water and
sanitation is greatest; and
(2) countries in which assistance under such section can be expected to
make the greatest difference in promoting good health, economic development,
poverty reduction, women's empowerment, conflict prevention, and environmental
sustainability.
(1) INITIAL REPORT- Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report that describes the strategy required by subsection
(a).
(A) IN GENERAL- Not less than once every year after the submission of
the initial report under paragraph (1) until 2015, the Secretary of
State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report
on the status of the implementation of the strategy, progress made in
achieving the objective described in subsection (a), and any changes
to the strategy since the date of the submission of the last report.
(B) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION- Such reports shall include information on
the amount of funds expended in each country or program, disaggregated
by purpose of assistance, including information on capital investments,
and the source of such funds by account.
(3) DEFINITION- In this subsection, the term `appropriate congressional
committees' means--
(A) the Committee on International Relations and the Committee on Appropriations
of the House of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations
of the Senate.
SEC. 7. MONITORING REQUIREMENT.
The Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency
for International Development shall monitor the implementation of assistance
under section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added by section
5(a) of this Act, to ensure that the assistance is reaching its intended
targets and meeting the intended purposes of assistance.
SEC. 8. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL CAPACITY.
It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State should expand current
programs and develop new programs, as necessary, to train local water and
sanitation managers and other officials of countries that receive assistance
under section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added by section
5(a) of this Act.
SEC. 9. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING ADDITIONAL WATER AND SANITATION PROGRAMS.
It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) the United States should further support, as appropriate, water and
sanitation activities of United Nations agencies, such as the United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),
and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); and
(2) the Secretary of the Treasury should instruct each United States Executive
Director at the multilateral development banks (within the meaning of
section 1701(c) of the International Financial Institutions Act) to encourage
the inclusion of water and sanitation programs as a critical element of
their development assistance.
SEC. 10. REPORT REGARDING WATER FOR PEACE AND SECURITY.
(a) Sense of Congress- It is the sense of Congress that United States programs
to support and encourage efforts around the world to develop river basin,
aquifer, and other watershed-wide mechanisms for governance and cooperation
are critical components of long-term United States national security and
should be expanded.
(b) Report- The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Administrator
of the United States Agency for International Development, shall submit
to the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report on efforts
that the United States is making to support and promote programs that develop
river basin, aquifer, and other watershed-wide mechanisms for governance
and cooperation.
SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General- There are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year
2006 and each subsequent fiscal year such sums as may be necessary to carry
out this Act and the amendments made by this Act.
(b) Other Amounts- Amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of
appropriations in subsection (a) shall be in addition to the amounts otherwise
available to carry out this Act and the amendments made by this Act.
(c) Availability- Amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of
appropriations under subsection (a) are authorized to remain available until
expended.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.
END
