H. R. 2901—4 
‘‘(B) the total population using an unimproved drinking 
water source; 
‘‘(C) the proportion of the population without piped 
water access; 
‘‘(D) the proportion of the population using shared or 
other unimproved sanitation facilities; 
‘‘(E) the total population using shared or other unim-
proved sanitation facilities; 
‘‘(F) the proportion of the population practicing open 
defecation; 
‘‘(G) the total number of children younger than 5 years 
of age who died from diarrheal disease; 
‘‘(H) the proportion of all deaths of children younger 
than 5 years of age resulting from diarrheal disease; 
‘‘(I) the national government’s capacity, capability, and 
commitment to work with the United States to improve 
access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, including— 
‘‘(i) the government’s capacity and commitment to 
developing the indigenous capacity to provide safe 
water and sanitation without the assistance of outside 
donors; and 
‘‘(ii) the degree to which such government— 
‘‘(I) identifies such efforts as a priority; and 
‘‘(II) allocates resources to such efforts; 
‘‘(J) the availability of opportunities to leverage existing 
public, private, or other donor investments in the water, 
sanitation, and hygiene sectors, including investments in 
the management of water resources; and 
‘‘(K) the likelihood of making significant improvements 
on a per capita basis on the health and educational 
opportunities available to women as a result of increased 
access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, including 
access to appropriate facilities at primary and secondary 
educational institutions seeking to ensure that communities 
benefitting from such projects and activities develop the 
indigenous capacity to provide safe water and sanitation 
without the assistance of outside donors; 
‘‘(2) prioritizing and measuring, including through rigorous 
monitoring and evaluating mechanisms, the extent to which 
such project or program— 
‘‘(A) furthers significant improvements in— 
‘‘(i) the criteria set forth in subparagraphs (A) 
through (H) of paragraph (1); 
‘‘(ii) the health and educational opportunities avail-
able to women as a result of increased access to safe 
water, sanitation, and hygiene, including access to 
appropriate facilities at primary and secondary edu-
cational institutions; and 
‘‘(iii) the indigenous capacity of the host nation 
or community to provide safe water and sanitation 
without the assistance of outside donors; 
‘‘(B) is designed, as part of the provision of safe water 
and sanitation to the local community— 
‘‘(i) to be financially independent over the long 
term, focusing on local ownership and sustainability; 
‘‘(ii) to be undertaken in conjunction with relevant 
public institutions or private enterprises;
H. R. 2901—5 
‘‘(iii) to identify and empower local individuals or 
institutions to be responsible for the effective manage-
ment and maintenance of such project or program; 
and 
‘‘(iv) to provide safe water or expertise or capacity 
building to those identified parties or institutions for 
the purposes of developing a plan and clear responsibil-
ities for the effective management and maintenance 
of such project or program; 
‘‘(C) leverages existing public, private, or other donor 
investments in the water, sanitation, and hygiene sectors, 
including investments in the management of water 
resources; 
‘‘(D) avoids duplication of efforts with other United 
States Government agencies or departments or those of 
other nations or nongovernmental organizations; 
‘‘(E) coordinates such efforts with the efforts of other 
United States Government agencies or departments or 
those of other nations or nongovernmental organizations 
directed at assisting refugees and other displaced individ-
uals; and 
‘‘(F) involves consultation with appropriate stake-
holders, including communities directly affected by the lack 
of access to clean water, sanitation or hygiene, and other 
appropriate nongovernmental organizations; and 
‘‘(3) seeking to further the strategy required under sub-
section (j) after 2018. 
‘‘(g) USE OF CURRENT AND IMPROVED EMPIRICAL DATA COLLEC-
TION AND REVIEW OF NEW STANDARDIZED INDICATORS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the United States 
Agency for International Development is authorized to use cur-
rent and improved empirical data collection— 
‘‘(A) to meet the health-based prioritization criteria 
established pursuant to subsection (f)(1); and 
‘‘(B) to review new standardized indicators in evalu-
ating progress towards meeting such criteria. 
‘‘(2) 
CONSULTATION
AND
NOTICE.—The 
Administrator 
shall— 
‘‘(A) regularly consult with the appropriate congres-
sional committees; and 
‘‘(B) notify such committees not later than 30 days 
before using current or improved empirical data collection 
for the review of any new standardized indicators under 
paragraph (1) for the purposes of carrying out this section. 
‘‘(h) DESIGNATION OF HIGH PRIORITY COUNTRIES.— 
‘‘(1) INITIAL DESIGNATION.—Not later than October 1, 2015, 
the President shall— 
‘‘(A) designate, on the basis of the criteria set forth 
in subsection (f)(1) not fewer than 10 countries as high 
priority countries to be the primary recipients of United 
States Government assistance authorized under this sec-
tion during fiscal year 2016; and 
‘‘(B) notify the appropriate congressional committees 
of such designations. 
‘‘(2) ANNUAL DESIGNATIONS.—
H. R. 2901—6 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subparagraph 
(B), the President shall annually make new designations 
pursuant to the criteria set forth in paragraph (1). 
‘‘(B) DESIGNATIONS AFTER FISCAL YEAR 2018.—Begin-
ning with fiscal year 2019, designations under paragraph 
(1) shall be made— 
‘‘(i) based upon the criteria set forth in subsection 
(f)(1); and 
‘‘(ii) in furtherance of the strategy required under 
subsection (j). 
‘‘(i) TARGETING
OF PROJECTS
AND PROGRAMS
TO AREAS
OF 
GREATEST NEED.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days before the obliga-
tion of any funds for water, sanitation, or hygiene projects 
or programs pursuant to this section in countries that are 
not ranked in the top 50 countries based upon the WASH 
Needs Index, the Administrator of the United States Agency 
for International Development shall notify the appropriate 
congressional committees of the planned obligation of such 
funds. 
‘‘(2) DEFINED TERM.—In this subsection and in subsection 
(j), the term ‘WASH Needs Index’ means the needs index for 
water, sanitation, or hygiene projects or programs authorized 
under this section that has been developed using the criteria 
and indicators described in subparagraphs (A) through (H) of 
subsection (f)(1).’’. 
SEC. 6. UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO INCREASE APPROPRIATE LONG- 
TERM SUSTAINABILITY AND ACCESS TO SAFE WATER, SANI-
TATION, AND HYGIENE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 136 of the Foreign Assistance Act 
of 1961, as redesignated and amended by this Act, is further 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(j) GLOBAL WATER STRATEGY.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than October 1, 2017, October 
1, 2022, and October 1, 2027, the President, acting through 
the Secretary of State, the Administrator of the United States 
Agency for International Development, and the heads of other 
Federal departments and agencies, as appropriate, shall submit 
a single government-wide Global Water Strategy to the appro-
priate congressional committees that provides a detailed 
description of how the United States intends— 
‘‘(A) to increase access to safe water, sanitation, and 
hygiene in high priority countries designated pursuant to 
subsection (h), including a summary of the WASH Needs 
Index and the specific weighting of empirical data and 
other definitions used to develop and rank countries on 
the WASH Needs Index; 
‘‘(B) to improve the management of water resources 
and watersheds in such countries; and 
‘‘(C) to work to prevent and resolve, to the greatest 
degree possible, both intra- and trans-boundary conflicts 
over water resources in such countries. 
‘‘(2) AGENCY-SPECIFIC PLANS.—The Global Water Strategy 
shall include an agency-specific plan—
H. R. 2901—7 
‘‘(A) from the United States Agency for International 
Development that describes specifically how the Agency 
for International Development will— 
‘‘(i) carry out the duties and responsibilities 
assigned to the Global Water Coordinator under sub-
section (e)(1); 
‘‘(ii) ensure that the Agency for International 
Development’s projects and programs authorized under 
this section are designed to achieve maximum impact 
and long-term sustainability, including by imple-
menting the requirements described in subsection (f); 
and 
‘‘(iii) increase access to safe water, sanitation, and 
hygiene in high priority countries designated pursuant 
to subsection (h); 
‘‘(B) from the Department of State that describes 
specifically how the Department of State will— 
‘‘(i) carry out the duties and responsibilities 
assigned to the Special Coordinator for Water 
Resources under subsection (e)(2); and 
‘‘(ii) ensure that the Department’s activities 
authorized under this section are designed— 
‘‘(I) to improve management of water resources 
and watersheds in countries designated pursuant 
to subsection (h); and 
‘‘(II) to prevent and resolve, to the greatest 
degree possible, both intra- and trans-boundary 
conflicts over water resources in such countries; 
and 
‘‘(C) from other Federal departments and agencies, as 
appropriate, that describes the contributions of the depart-
ments and agencies to implementing the Global Water 
Strategy. 
‘‘(3) INDIVIDUALIZED PLANS FOR HIGH PRIORITY COUNTRIES.— 
For each high priority country designated pursuant to sub-
section (h), the Administrator of the United States Agency 
for International Development shall— 
‘‘(A) develop a costed, evidence-based, and results-ori-
ented plan that— 
‘‘(i) seeks to achieve the purposes of this section; 
and 
‘‘(ii) meets the requirements under subsection (f); 
and 
‘‘(B) include such plan in an appendix to the Global 
Water Strategy required under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(4) FIRST
TIME
ACCESS
REPORTING
REQUIREMENT.—The 
Global Water Strategy shall specifically describe the target 
percentage of funding for each fiscal year covered by such 
strategy to be directed toward projects aimed at providing 
first-time access to safe water and sanitation. 
‘‘(5) 
PERFORMANCE
INDICATORS.—The 
Global 
Water 
Strategy shall include specific and measurable goals, bench-
marks, performance metrics, timetables, and monitoring and 
evaluation plans required to be developed by the Administrator 
of the United States Agency for International Development 
pursuant to subsection (e)(1)(B)(v).
H. R. 2901—8 
‘‘(6) CONSULTATION
AND
BEST
PRACTICES.—The Global 
Water Strategy shall— 
‘‘(A) be developed in consultation with the heads of 
other appropriate Federal departments and agencies; and 
‘‘(B) incorporate best practices from the international 
development community. 
‘‘(k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘appropriate congressional committees’ 
means— 
‘‘(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; 
‘‘(B) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; 
‘‘(C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
of Representatives; and 
‘‘(D) the Committee on Appropriations of the House 
of Representatives; and 
‘‘(2) the term ‘long-term sustainability’ refers to the ability 
of a service delivery system, community, partner, or beneficiary 
to maintain, over time, any water, sanitation, or hygiene project 
that receives funding pursuant to the amendments made by 
the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2014.’’. 
(b) DEPARTMENT OF STATE AGENCY-SPECIFIC PLAN.—Not later 
than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of State shall submit an agency-specific plan to the appropriate 
congressional committees (as defined in section 136(k) of the Foreign 
Assistance Act of 1961, as added by subsection (a)) that meets 
the requirements of section 136(j)(2)(B) of such Act, as added by 
subsection (a). 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 6 of the Senator Paul 
Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–121; 22 
U.S.C. 2152h note) is repealed. 
Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.