I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3658 
To strengthen implementation of the Senator Paul Simon Water for the 
Poor Act of 2005, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 14, 2011 
Mr. BLUMENAUER (for himself, Mr. POE of Texas, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. BURTON 
of Indiana, Mr. CARNAHAN, Mr. SIRES, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. 
MCGOVERN, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. BASS of California, Ms. LEE of Cali-
fornia, and Mr. SMITH of Washington) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To strengthen implementation of the Senator Paul Simon 
Water for the Poor Act of 2005, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives 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 World Act of 2012’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Senator Paul Simon Water for the 
Poor Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–121)— 
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(A) makes access to safe water and sanita-
tion for developing countries a specific policy 
objective of United States foreign assistance 
programs; 
(B) requires the Secretary of State to— 
(i) develop a strategy to elevate the 
role of water and sanitation policy; and 
(ii) 
improve 
the 
effectiveness 
of 
United States assistance programs under-
taken in support of that strategy; 
(C) codifies Target 10 of the United Na-
tions Millennium Development Goals; and 
(D) seeks to reduce by half between 1990 
(the baseline year) and 2015— 
(i) the proportion of people who are 
unable to reach or afford safe drinking 
water; and 
(ii) the proportion of people without 
access to basic sanitation. 
(2) For maximum effectiveness of assistance, 
safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene must be 
coordinated with and integrated into programs and 
strategies for food security, global health, environ-
ment, education, and gender equality. 
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(3) On August 1, 2008, Congress passed H. 
Con. Res. 318, which— 
(A) supports the goals and ideals of the 
International Year of Sanitation; and 
(B) recognizes the importance of sanitation 
on public health, poverty reduction, economic 
and social development, and the environment. 
(4) While progress is being made on safe water 
and sanitation efforts— 
(A) 
more 
than 
884,000,000 
people 
throughout the world lack access to safe drink-
ing water; and 
(B) 2 of every 5 people in the world do not 
have access to basic sanitation services. 
(5) The health consequences of unsafe drinking 
water and poor sanitation are significant— 
(A) at any given time, half of the world’s 
hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering 
from diseases associated with lack of access to 
safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and 
poor hygiene; 
(B) more than 3,575,000 people die each 
year from water-related disease; and 
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(C) chronic or acute diarrhea can lead to 
cognitive delays, with severe repercussions for 
economic development. 
(6) Clean water and sanitation are among the 
most powerful drivers for human development. They 
extend opportunity, enhance dignity, and help create 
a virtuous cycle of improving health and rising 
wealth. 
(7) Diseases linked to unsafe water and poor 
sanitation, as well as the time and energy women 
often devote to collecting water, significantly reduce 
economic productivity in less developed countries 
and promote lifecycles of disadvantage. 
(8) Expanding access to clean water and sanita-
tion is essential for reducing the global burden of 
disease, advancing economic and social development, 
protecting basic human rights, prevention of violence 
against women, and mitigating sources of conflict. 
(9) Nearly 1,000,000,000 people across the 
globe still suffer from chronic hunger. Water scar-
city and poor water management reduce agricultural 
productivity and threaten food security. 
(10) Approximately half the world’s population 
lives in cities, often in slums characterized by unsafe 
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water, poor sanitation, lack of basic services, over-
crowding, inferior construction and insecure tenure. 
(11) According to the 2005 Millennium Eco-
system Assessment, commissioned by the United Na-
tions, more than 1⁄5 of the world population relies on 
freshwater that is either polluted or excessively with-
drawn. 
(12) According to the United Nations, women 
make up 70 percent of the world’s poor. Yet, the 
time they spend collecting water prevents them from 
undertaking other activities, such as generating in-
come or attending school. 
(13) A lack of access to safe water and im-
proved sanitation close to home and at school can 
impact girls’ educational attainment and retention, 
limiting their ability to break the cycle of poverty. 
Research has found increases in girls’ school enroll-
ment when clean water points were installed closer 
to home, and increases in girls’ school attendance 
when separate latrines for boys and girls were pro-
vided on site. Meeting the water and sanitation tar-
gets of the Millennium Development Goals would 
provide an estimated 272,000,000 additional school 
days per year. 
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(14) A lack of water points close to home or 
safe, private latrines can put women and girls in iso-
lated situations, making them more vulnerable to 
sexual and physical violence. Violence against women 
and girls has consequences ranging from psycho-
social trauma to heightened risk of HIV/AIDS. 
(15) Faith communities across the United 
States contribute significantly to the improvement of 
water, sanitation, and hygiene in developing coun-
tries. By applying their expertise, providing services, 
building the capacity of local organizations, estab-
lishing long-term partnerships with local commu-
nities, empowering marginalized groups, and serving 
as a voice for the poor, faith-based and nonprofit or-
ganizations complement and leverage assistance pro-
vided by the United States Government. 
(16) United States businesses have developed 
key technologies, donated goods and services, 
partnered with private and public sector entities, 
and invested their capital to improve water and sani-
tation in many developing countries. 
(17) Implementation of the Senator Paul Simon 
Water for the Poor Act of 2005 must be signifi-
cantly strengthened if the purposes of section 136 of 
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the Foreign Assistance Act, as redesignated and 
amended by section 4 of this Act, are to be met. 
(18) The monitoring and evaluation of the per-
formance of United States foreign assistance pro-
grams and their contribution to policy, strategies, 
projects, program goals, and priorities undertaken 
by the Federal Government is essential to improving 
aid effectiveness. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act and the amendments made 
by this Act is to strengthen implementation of the Senator 
Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 (Public Law 
109–121) by— 
(1) improving coordination and oversight of 
water, sanitation, and hygiene programs within and 
between United States Government agencies; 
(2) increasing the sustainability of United 
States Government-supported water, sanitation, and 
hygiene programs; 
(3) enhancing water, sanitation, and hygiene 
expertise within the United States Agency for Inter-
national Development; and 
(4) integrating water and sanitation into pro-
grams and strategies for food security, global health, 
environment, education, and gender equality. 
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SEC. 4. IMPROVING COORDINATION AND OVERSIGHT OF 
SAFE WATER, SANITATION, AND HYGIENE 
PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign 
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amend-
ed— 
(1) by redesignating section 135, as added by 
section 5(a) of the Senator Paul Simon Water for 
the Poor Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–121; 119 
Stat. 2536), as section 136; and 
(2) in section 136, as redesignated by para-
graph (1) of this section— 
(A) in the section heading, by striking 
‘‘AND SANITATION’’ and inserting ‘‘, SANITA-
TION, AND HYGIENE’’; 
(B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘and 
sanitation’’ and inserting ‘‘, sanitation, and hy-
giene’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(e) GLOBAL WATER COORDINATOR.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 
United States Agency for International Development 
(USAID) shall designate a senior advisor to coordi-
nate and oversee water, sanitation, and hygiene as-
sistance, who shall be known as the ‘Global Water 
Coordinator’, and who shall report directly to the 
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Administrator and the Assistant Administrator over-
seeing water programs. 
‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Global Water Coordinator 
shall— 
‘‘(A) oversee implementation of this section 
and the Senator Paul Simon Water for the 
Poor Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–121); 
‘‘(B) lead the development of the safe 
water and sanitation strategy required under 
section 6 of the Senator Paul Simon Water for 
the Poor Act of 2005; 
‘‘(C) assist and monitor the development of 
country-specific water strategies in coordination 
with relevant USAID Mission Directors and 
other appropriate personnel; 
‘‘(D) integrate water, sanitation, and hy-
giene activities into global and country-specific 
strategies and programs, including those relat-
ing to food security, global health, environment, 
education, and gender equality; 
‘‘(E) develop appropriate benchmarks, in-
dicators, and guidelines for monitoring and 
evaluation of water and sanitation programs as 
required under section 8 of the Senator Paul 
Simon Water for the World Act of 2012; and 
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‘‘(F) foster the development, dissemina-
tion, and increased and consistent use of low- 
cost and sustainable technologies, public and 
private partnerships, credit guarantees and 
other financing arrangements that leverage 
non-Federal funds for impact on water, sanita-
tion, and hygiene services that benefit the poor. 
‘‘(3) STAFF.—The Administrator shall ensure 
that a sufficient number of employees of USAID 
with appropriate experience are assigned to assist 
the Global Water Coordinator in carrying out the 
duties of paragraph (2). 
‘‘(f) SPECIAL ADVISOR FOR WATER RESOURCES.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary of State 
shall designate a senior advisor to coordinate and 
oversee policy relating to water and sanitation as-
sistance, who shall be known as the ‘Special Advisor 
for Water Resources’, and who shall report directly 
to the Secretary of State and the Under Secretary 
overseeing water programs. 
‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Special Advisor for Water 
Resources shall— 
‘‘(A) oversee and coordinate the diplomatic 
policy of the United States Government with re-
spect to global freshwater issues, including— 
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‘‘(i) working with partner countries 
and other stakeholders to develop and sus-
tain political commitment to improving ac-
cess to water, sanitation, and hygiene over 
the long term, and mitigating cross-border 
conflict; 
‘‘(ii) assisting and encouraging other 
countries and international organizations 
to plan and manage water resources in an 
efficient, transparent, equitable, inclusive, 
and environmentally sustainable manner; 
‘‘(iii) fostering regional and cross-bor-
der cooperation for integrated river basin 
and watershed management; 
‘‘(iv) mitigating transboundary con-
flict over water resources; 
‘‘(v) fostering integrated river basin 
and watershed management; and 
‘‘(vi) fostering agricultural and urban 
productivity of water resources; and 
‘‘(B) promote United States policy relating 
to international freshwater issues in key diplo-
matic and scientific forums. 
‘‘(3) STAFF.—The Secretary of State shall en-
sure that a sufficient number of employees of the 
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