[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1973 Engrossed in House (EH)]


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1973

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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.
    (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.
                    (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 section (a) are authorized to 
remain available until expended.

            Passed the House of Representatives November 7, 2005.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
109th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 1973

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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.