II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2901 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 9, 2014 

Received 

AN ACT 

To strengthen implementation of the Senator Paul Simon 

Water for the Poor Act of 2005 by improving the capacity of the United States Government to implement, leverage, and monitor and evaluate programs to provide firsttime or improved access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene to the world’s poorest on an equitable 

and sustainable basis, and for other purposes. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

HR 2901 RDS 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Senator Paul Simon 

5 Water for the World Act of 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that— 

8 (1) water and sanitation are critically important 

9 resources that impact many other aspects of human 

10 life; and 

11 (2) the United States should be a global leader 

12 in helping provide sustainable access to clean water 

13 and sanitation for the world’s most vulnerable popu14 lations. 

15 SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF ASSISTANCE TO PROVIDE SAFE 

16 WATER AND SANITATION TO INCLUDE HY17 GIENE. 

18 Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act 

19 of 1961 is amended— 

20 (1) by redesignating section 135 (22 U.S.C. 

21 2152h), as added by section 5(a) of the Senator 

22 Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 (Public 

23 Law 109–121; 22 U.S.C. 2152h note), as section 

24 136; and 

25 (2) in section 136, as redesignated— 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

HR 2901 RDS 

1 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

2 ‘‘AND SANITATION’’ and inserting ‘‘, SANITA3 TION, AND HYGIENE’’; and 

4 (B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘and 

5 sanitation’’ and inserting ‘‘, sanitation, and hy6 giene’’. 

7 SEC. 4. IMPROVING COORDINATION AND OVERSIGHT OF 

8 SAFE WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE 

9 PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES. 

10 Section 136 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, 

11 as redesignated and amended by this Act, is further 

12 amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(e) COORDINATION AND OVERSIGHT.— 

14 ‘‘(1) USAID GLOBAL WATER COORDINATOR.— 

15 ‘‘(A) DESIGNATION.—The Administrator 

16 of the United States Agency for International 

17 Development (referred to in this paragraph as 

18 ‘USAID’) or the Administrator’s designee, who 

19 shall be a current USAID employee serving in 

20 a career or non-career position in the Senior 

21 Executive Service or at the level of a Deputy 

22 Assistant Administrator or higher, shall serve 

23 concurrently as the USAID Global Water Coor24 dinator (referred to in this subsection as the 

25 ‘Coordinator’). 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

HR 2901 RDS 

1 ‘‘(B) SPECIFIC DUTIES.—The Coordinator 

2 shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) provide direction and guidance to, 

4 coordinate, and oversee the projects and 

5 programs of USAID authorized under this 

6 section; 

7 ‘‘(ii) lead the implementation and re8 vision, not less frequently than once every 

9 5 years, of USAID’s portion of the Global 

10 Water Strategy required under subsection 

11 (j); 

12 ‘‘(iii) seek— 

13 ‘‘(I) to expand the capacity of 

14 USAID, subject to the availability of 

15 appropriations, including through the 

16 designation of a lead subject matter 

17 expert selected from among USAID 

18 staff in each high priority country 

19 designated pursuant to subsection (h); 

20 ‘‘(II) to implement such pro21 grams and activities; 

22 ‘‘(III) to take advantage of 

23 economies of scale; and 

24 ‘‘(IV) to conduct more efficient 

25 and effective projects and programs; 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

HR 2901 RDS 

1 ‘‘(iv) coordinate with the Department 

2 of State and USAID staff in each high pri3 ority country designated pursuant to sub4 section (h) to ensure that USAID activities 

5 and projects, USAID program planning 

6 and budgeting documents, and USAID 

7 country development strategies reflect and 

8 seek to implement— 

9 ‘‘(I) the safe water, sanitation, 

10 and hygiene objectives established in 

11 the strategy required under subsection 

12 (j), including objectives relating to the 

13 management of water resources; and 

14 ‘‘(II) international best practices 

15 relating to— 

16 ‘‘(aa) increasing access to 

17 safe water and sanitation; 

18 ‘‘(bb) conducting hygiene-re19 lated activities; and 

20 ‘‘(cc) ensuring appropriate 

21 management of water resources; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(v) develop appropriate benchmarks, 

24 measurable goals, performance metrics, 

25 and monitoring and evaluation plans for 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

HR 2901 RDS 

1 USAID projects and programs authorized 

2 under this section. 

3 ‘‘(2) DEPARTMENT OF STATE SPECIAL COORDI4 NATOR FOR WATER RESOURCES.— 

5 ‘‘(A) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary of 

6 State or the Secretary’s designee, who shall be 

7 a current employee of the Department of State 

8 serving in a career or non-career position in the 

9 Senior Executive Service or at the level of a 

10 Deputy Assistant Secretary or higher, shall 

11 serve concurrently as the Department of State 

12 Special Advisor for Water Resources (referred 

13 to in this paragraph as the ‘Special Advisor’). 

14 ‘‘(B) SPECIFIC DUTIES.—The Special Ad15 visor shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) provide direction and guidance to, 

17 coordinate, and oversee the projects and 

18 programs of the Department of State au19 thorized under this section; 

20 ‘‘(ii) lead the implementation and re21 vision, not less than every 5 years, of the 

22 Department of State’s portion of the Glob23 al Water Strategy required under sub24 section (j); 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

HR 2901 RDS 

1 ‘‘(iii) prioritize and coordinate the De2 partment of State’s international engage3 ment on the allocation, distribution, and 

4 access to global fresh water resources and 

5 policies related to such matters; 

6 ‘‘(iv) coordinate with United States 

7 Agency for International Development and 

8 Department of State staff in each high pri9 ority country designated pursuant to sub10 section (h) to ensure that United States 

11 diplomatic efforts related to safe water, 

12 sanitation, and hygiene, including efforts 

13 related to management of water resources 

14 and watersheds and the resolution of intra15 and trans-boundary conflicts over water re16 sources, are consistent with United States 

17 national interests; and 

18 ‘‘(v) represent the views of the United 

19 States Government on the allocation, dis20 tribution, and access to global fresh water 

21 resources and policies related to such mat22 ters in key international fora, including 

23 key diplomatic, development-related, and 

24 scientific organizations. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

HR 2901 RDS 

1 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL NATURE OF DUTIES AND RE2 STRICTION ON ADDITIONAL OR SUPPLEMENTAL COM3 PENSATION.—The responsibilities and specific duties 

4 of the Administrator of the United States Agency 

5 for International Development (or the Administra6 tor’s designee) and the Secretary of State (or the 

7 Secretary’s designee) under paragraph (2) or (3), re8 spectively, shall be in addition to any other respon9 sibilities or specific duties assigned to such individ10 uals. Such individuals shall receive no additional or 

11 supplemental compensation as a result of carrying 

12 out such responsibilities and specific duties under 

13 such paragraphs.’’. 

14 SEC. 5. PROMOTING THE MAXIMUM IMPACT AND LONG15 TERM SUSTAINABILITY OF USAID SAFE 

16 WATER, SANITATION, AND HYGIENE-RELATED 

17 PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS. 

18 Section 136 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, 

19 as redesignated and amended by this Act, is further 

20 amended by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(f) PRIORITIES AND CRITERIA FOR MAXIMUM IM22 PACT AND LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY.—The Adminis23 trator of the United States Agency for International De24 velopment shall ensure that the Agency for International 

25 Development’s projects and programs authorized under 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

HR 2901 RDS 

1 this section are designed to achieve maximum impact and 

2 long-term sustainability by— 

3 ‘‘(1) prioritizing countries on the basis of the 

4 following clearly defined criteria and indicators, to 

5 the extent sufficient empirical data are available— 

6 ‘‘(A) the proportion of the population 

7 using an unimproved drinking water source; 

8 ‘‘(B) the total population using an unim9 proved drinking water source; 

10 ‘‘(C) the proportion of the population with11 out piped water access; 

12 ‘‘(D) the proportion of the population 

13 using shared or other unimproved sanitation fa14 cilities; 

15 ‘‘(E) the total population using shared or 

16 other unimproved sanitation facilities; 

17 ‘‘(F) the proportion of the population prac18 ticing open defecation; 

19 ‘‘(G) the total number of children younger 

20 than 5 years of age who died from diarrheal 

21 disease; 

22 ‘‘(H) the proportion of all deaths of chil23 dren younger than 5 years of age resulting from 

24 diarrheal disease; 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

HR 2901 RDS 

1 ‘‘(I) the national government’s capacity, 

2 capability, and commitment to work with the 

3 United States to improve access to safe water, 

4 sanitation, and hygiene, including— 

5 ‘‘(i) the government’s capacity and 

6 commitment to developing the indigenous 

7 capacity to provide safe water and sanita8 tion without the assistance of outside do9 nors; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the degree to which such govern11 ment— 

12 ‘‘(I) identifies such efforts as a 

13 priority; and 

14 ‘‘(II) allocates resources to such 

15 efforts; 

16 ‘‘(J) the availability of opportunities to le17 verage existing public, private, or other donor 

18 investments in the water, sanitation, and hy19 giene sectors, including investments in the man20 agement of water resources; and 

21 ‘‘(K) the likelihood of making significant 

22 improvements on a per capita basis on the 

23 health and educational opportunities available 

24 to women as a result of increased access to safe 

25 water, sanitation, and hygiene, including access 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

HR 2901 RDS 

1 to appropriate facilities at primary and sec2 ondary educational institutions seeking to en3 sure that communities benefitting from such 

4 projects and activities develop the indigenous 

5 capacity to provide safe water and sanitation 

6 without the assistance of outside donors; 

7 ‘‘(2) prioritizing and measuring, including 

8 through rigorous monitoring and evaluating mecha9 nisms, the extent to which such project or pro10 gram— 

11 ‘‘(A) furthers significant improvements 

12 in— 

13 ‘‘(i) the criteria set forth in subpara14 graphs (A) through (H) of paragraph (1); 

15 ‘‘(ii) the health and educational op16 portunities available to women as a result 

17 of increased access to safe water, sanita18 tion, and hygiene, including access to ap19 propriate facilities at primary and sec20 ondary educational institutions; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) the indigenous capacity of the 

22 host nation or community to provide safe 

23 water and sanitation without the assistance 

24 of outside donors; 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

HR 2901 RDS 

1 ‘‘(B) is designed, as part of the provision 

2 of safe water and sanitation to the local com3 munity— 

4 ‘‘(i) to be financially independent over 

5 the long term, focusing on local ownership 

6 and sustainability; 

7 ‘‘(ii) to be undertaken in conjunction 

8 with relevant public institutions or private 

9 enterprises; 

10 ‘‘(iii) to identify and empower local in11 dividuals or institutions to be responsible 

12 for the effective management and mainte13 nance of such project or program; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) to provide safe water or exper15 tise or capacity building to those identified 

16 parties or institutions for the purposes of 

17 developing a plan and clear responsibilities 

18 for the effective management and mainte19 nance of such project or program; 

20 ‘‘(C) leverages existing public, private, or 

21 other donor investments in the water, sanita22 tion, and hygiene sectors, including investments 

23 in the management of water resources; 

24 ‘‘(D) avoids duplication of efforts with 

25 other United States Government agencies or deVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Dec 16, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2901.RDS H2901

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

HR 2901 RDS 

1 partments or those of other nations or non2 governmental organizations; 

3 ‘‘(E) coordinates such efforts with the ef4 forts of other United States Government agen5 cies or departments or those of other nations or 

6 nongovernmental organizations directed at as7 sisting refugees and other displaced individuals; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(F) involves consultation with appropriate 

10 stakeholders, including communities directly af11 fected by the lack of access to clean water, sani12 tation or hygiene, and other appropriate non13 governmental organizations; and 

14 ‘‘(3) seeking to further the strategy required 

15 under subsection (j) after 2018. 

16 ‘‘(g) USE OF CURRENT AND IMPROVED EMPIRICAL

17 DATA COLLECTION AND REVIEW OF NEW STANDARDIZED

18 INDICATORS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 

20 United States Agency for International Development 

21 is authorized to use current and improved empirical 

22 data collection— 

23 ‘‘(A) to meet the health-based 

24 prioritization criteria established pursuant to 

25 subsection (f)(1); and 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

HR 2901 RDS 

1 ‘‘(B) to review new standardized indicators 

2 in evaluating progress towards meeting such 

3 criteria. 

4 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION AND NOTICE.—The Ad5 ministrator shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) regularly consult with the appropriate 

7 congressional committees; and 

8 ‘‘(B) notify such committees not later than 

9 30 days before using current or improved em10 pirical data collection for the review of any new 

11 standardized indicators under paragraph (1) for 

12 the purposes of carrying out this section. 

13 ‘‘(h) DESIGNATION OF HIGH PRIORITY COUN14 TRIES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) INITIAL DESIGNATION.—Not later than 

16 October 1, 2015, the President shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) designate, on the basis of the criteria 

18 set forth in subsection (f)(1) not fewer than 10 

19 countries as high priority countries to be the 

20 primary recipients of United States Government 

21 assistance authorized under this section during 

22 fiscal year 2016; and 

23 ‘‘(B) notify the appropriate congressional 

24 committees of such designations. 

25 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL DESIGNATIONS.— 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

HR 2901 RDS 

1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

2 subparagraph (B), the President shall annually 

3 make new designations pursuant to the criteria 

4 set forth in paragraph (1). 

5 ‘‘(B) DESIGNATIONS AFTER FISCAL YEAR

6 2018.—Beginning with fiscal year 2019, des7 ignations under paragraph (1) shall be made— 

8 ‘‘(i) based upon the criteria set forth 

9 in subsection (f)(1); and 

10 ‘‘(ii) in furtherance of the strategy re11 quired under subsection (j). 

12 ‘‘(i) TARGETING OF PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS TO

13 AREAS OF GREATEST NEED.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days be15 fore the obligation of any funds for water, sanita16 tion, or hygiene projects or programs pursuant to 

17 this section in countries that are not ranked in the 

18 top 50 countries based upon the WASH Needs 

19 Index, the Administrator of the United States Agen20 cy for International Development shall notify the ap21 propriate congressional committees of the planned 

22 obligation of such funds. 

23 ‘‘(2) DEFINED TERM.—In this subsection and 

24 in subsection (j), the term ‘WASH Needs Index’ 

25 means the needs index for water, sanitation, or hyVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Dec 16, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2901.RDS H2901

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

HR 2901 RDS 

1 giene projects or programs authorized under this 

2 section that has been developed using the criteria 

3 and indicators described in subparagraphs (A) 

4 through (H) of subsection (f)(1).’’. 

5 SEC. 6. UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO INCREASE APPRO6 PRIATE LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY AND 

7 ACCESS TO SAFE WATER, SANITATION, AND 

8 HYGIENE. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 136 of the Foreign Assist10 ance Act of 1961, as redesignated and amended by this 

11 Act, is further amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(j) GLOBAL WATER STRATEGY.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than October 1, 

15 2017, October 1, 2022, and October 1, 2027, the 

16 President, acting through the Secretary of State, the 

17 Administrator of the United States Agency for 

18 International Development, and the heads of other 

19 Federal departments and agencies, as appropriate, 

20 shall submit a single government-wide Global Water 

21 Strategy to the appropriate congressional commit22 tees that provides a detailed description of how the 

23 United States intends— 

24 ‘‘(A) to increase access to safe water, sani25 tation, and hygiene in high priority countries 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
17 

HR 2901 RDS 

1 designated pursuant to subsection (h), including 

2 a summary of the WASH Needs Index and the 

3 specific weighting of empirical data and other 

4 definitions used to develop and rank countries 

5 on the WASH Needs Index; 

6 ‘‘(B) to improve the management of water 

7 resources and watersheds in such countries; and 

8 ‘‘(C) to work to prevent and resolve, to the 

9 greatest degree possible, both intra- and trans10 boundary conflicts over water resources in such 

11 countries. 

12 ‘‘(2) AGENCY-SPECIFIC PLANS.—The Global 

13 Water Strategy shall include an agency-specific 

14 plan— 

15 ‘‘(A) from the United States Agency for 

16 International Development that describes spe17 cifically how the Agency for International De18 velopment will— 

19 ‘‘(i) carry out the duties and respon20 sibilities assigned to the Global Water Co21 ordinator under subsection (e)(1); 

22 ‘‘(ii) ensure that the Agency for Inter23 national Development’s projects and pro24 grams authorized under this section are 

25 designed to achieve maximum impact and 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
18 

HR 2901 RDS 

1 long-term sustainability, including by im2 plementing the requirements described in 

3 subsection (f); and 

4 ‘‘(iii) increase access to safe water, 

5 sanitation, and hygiene in high priority 

6 countries designated pursuant to sub7 section (h); 

8 ‘‘(B) from the Department of State that 

9 describes specifically how the Department of 

10 State will— 

11 ‘‘(i) carry out the duties and respon12 sibilities assigned to the Special Coordi13 nator for Water Resources under sub14 section (e)(2); and 

15 ‘‘(ii) ensure that the Department’s ac16 tivities authorized under this section are 

17 designed— 

18 ‘‘(I) to improve management of 

19 water resources and watersheds in 

20 countries designated pursuant to sub21 section (h); and 

22 ‘‘(II) to prevent and resolve, to 

23 the greatest degree possible, both 

24 intra- and trans-boundary conflicts 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
19 

HR 2901 RDS 

1 over water resources in such coun2 tries; and 

3 ‘‘(C) from other Federal departments and 

4 agencies, as appropriate, that describes the con5 tributions of the departments and agencies to 

6 implementing the Global Water Strategy. 

7 ‘‘(3) INDIVIDUALIZED PLANS FOR HIGH PRI8 ORITY COUNTRIES.—For each high priority country 

9 designated pursuant to subsection (h), the Adminis10 trator of the United States Agency for International 

11 Development shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) develop a costed, evidence-based, and 

13 results-oriented plan that— 

14 ‘‘(i) seeks to achieve the purposes of 

15 this section; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) meets the requirements under 

17 subsection (f); and 

18 ‘‘(B) include such plan in an appendix to 

19 the Global Water Strategy required under para20 graph (1). 

21 ‘‘(4) FIRST TIME ACCESS REPORTING REQUIRE22 MENT.—The Global Water Strategy shall specifically 

23 describe the target percentage of funding for each 

24 fiscal year covered by such strategy to be directed 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
20 

HR 2901 RDS 

1 toward projects aimed at providing first-time access 

2 to safe water and sanitation. 

3 ‘‘(5) PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.—The Global 

4 Water Strategy shall include specific and measurable 

5 goals, benchmarks, performance metrics, timetables, 

6 and monitoring and evaluation plans required to be 

7 developed by the Administrator of the United States 

8 Agency for International Development pursuant to 

9 subsection (e)(1)(B)(v). 

10 ‘‘(6) CONSULTATION AND BEST PRACTICES.— 

11 The Global Water Strategy shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) be developed in consultation with the 

13 heads of other appropriate Federal departments 

14 and agencies; and 

15 ‘‘(B) incorporate best practices from the 

16 international development community. 

17 ‘‘(k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

18 ‘‘(1) the term ‘appropriate congressional com19 mittees’ means— 

20 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

21 of the Senate; 

22 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Appropriations of 

23 the Senate; 

24 ‘‘(C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

25 the House of Representatives; and 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
21 

HR 2901 RDS 

1 ‘‘(D) the Committee on Appropriations of 

2 the House of Representatives; and 

3 ‘‘(2) the term ‘long-term sustainability’ refers 

4 to the ability of a service delivery system, commu5 nity, partner, or beneficiary to maintain, over time, 

6 any water, sanitation, or hygiene project that re7 ceives funding pursuant to the amendments made by 

8 the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 

9 2014.’’. 

10 (b) DEPARTMENT OF STATE AGENCY-SPECIFIC

11 PLAN.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enact12 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit an 

13 agency-specific plan to the appropriate congressional com14 mittees (as defined in section 136(k) of the Foreign As15 sistance Act of 1961, as added by subsection (a)) that 

16 meets the requirements of section 136(j)(2)(B) of such 

17 Act, as added by subsection (a). 

18 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 6 of the 

19 Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 (Pub20 lic Law 109–121; 22 U.S.C. 2152h note) is repealed. 

Passed the House of Representatives December 8, 

2014. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS