H. R. 1973

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 
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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 enduser. 

(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 lowestincome 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 
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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 waterrelated issues at all levels and on the implementation of waterrelated 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 
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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 
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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. 
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(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. 

(g) REPORTS.—

(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). 

(2) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—

(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. 
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(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 watershedwide 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 
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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.