[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7180 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7180

   To enhance the capacity of the United States Government to fully 
implement the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 and to 
  improve access to safe drinking water and sanitation throughout the 
                                 world.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 27, 2008

 Mr. Blumenauer (for himself, Mr. Payne, Mr. Manzullo, Ms. Jackson-Lee 
 of Texas, Mr. Shays, Mr. George Miller of California, Mr. LaTourette, 
 and Mr. Jones of North Carolina) introduced the following bill; which 
            was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To enhance the capacity of the United States Government to fully 
implement the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 and to 
  improve access to safe drinking water and sanitation throughout the 
                                 world.

    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 Enhancement Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 
        (Public Law 109-121)--
                    (A) makes access to safe water and sanitation 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 undertaken in 
                        support of that strategy;
                    (C) codifies Target 10 of the United Nations 
                Millennium Development Goals; and
                    (D) seeks to reduce the proportion of people who 
                are unable to reach or afford safe drinking water and 
                basic sanitation by 50 percent by 2015.
            (2) On December 20, 2006, the United Nations General 
        Assembly, in GA Resolution 61/192, declared 2008 as the 
        International Year of Sanitation, in recognition of the impact 
        of sanitation on public health, poverty reduction, economic and 
        social development, and the environment.
            (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 drinking 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 staggering, accounting for--
                    (A) nearly 10 percent of the global burden of 
                disease; and
                    (B) more than 2,000,000 deaths each year.
            (6) The effects of climate change are expected to produce 
        severe consequences for water availability and resource 
        management in the future, with 2,800,000,000 people in more 
        than 48 countries expected to face severe and chronic water 
        shortages by 2025.
            (7) The impact of water scarcity on conflict and 
        instability is evident in many parts of the world, including 
        the Darfur region of Sudan, where demand for water resources 
        has contributed to armed conflict between nomadic ethnic groups 
        and local farming communities.
            (8) In order to further the United States contribution to 
        safe water and sanitation efforts, it is necessary to--
                    (A) expand foreign assistance capacity to address 
                the challenges described in this section; and
                    (B) represent issues related to water and 
                sanitation at the highest levels of United States 
                foreign assistance deliberations, including 
                deliberations related to issues of global health, food 
                security, the environment, global warming, and maternal 
                and child mortality.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to enhance the capacity of the United 
States Government to fully implement the Senator Paul Simon Water for 
the Poor Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-121).

SEC. 4. DEVELOPING UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT CAPACITY.

    Section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151h) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Office of Water.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--To carry out the purposes of 
        subsection (a), the Administrator of the United States Agency 
        for International Development shall establish the Office of 
        Water.
            ``(2) Leadership.--The Office of Water shall be headed by 
        an Assistant Administrator for Safe Water and Sanitation, who 
        shall report directly to the Administrator.
            ``(3) Duties.--The Assistant Administrator shall--
                    ``(A) implement this section and the Senator Paul 
                Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-
                121); and
                    ``(B) place primary emphasis on providing safe, 
                affordable, and sustainable drinking water, sanitation, 
                and hygiene.
    ``(f) Bureau of International Water.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--To increase the capacity of the 
        Department of State to address international issues regarding 
        safe water, sanitation, and other international water programs, 
        the Secretary of State shall establish the Bureau for 
        International Water within the Office of the Under Secretary 
        for Democracy and Global Affairs (referred to in this 
        subsection as the `Bureau').
            ``(2) Duties.--The Bureau shall--
                    ``(A) oversee and coordinate the diplomatic policy 
                of the United States Government with respect to global 
                freshwater issues, including--
                            ``(i) access to safe drinking water and 
                        sanitation;
                            ``(ii) river basin and watershed 
                        management;
                            ``(iii) transboundary conflict;
                            ``(iv) agricultural and urban productivity 
                        of water resources;
                            ``(v) pollution mitigation; and
                            ``(vi) adaptation to hydrologic change due 
                        to climate variability; and
                    ``(B) ensure that international freshwater issues 
                are represented--
                            ``(i) within the United States Government; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) in key diplomatic, development, and 
                        scientific efforts with other nations and 
                        multilateral organizations.''.

SEC. 5. SAFE WATER AND SANITATION STRATEGY.

    Section 6(e) of the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 
2005 (Public Law 109-121) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting a semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(7) an assessment of the extent to which the United 
        States Government's efforts are reaching the goal described in 
        section 135(a)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
        U.S.C. 2152h(a)(2)); and
            ``(8) recommendations on what the United States Government 
        would need to do to help achieve the goal referred to in 
        paragraph (7) if the United States Government's efforts were 
        proportional to its share of the world's economy.''.

SEC. 6. DEVELOPING LOCAL CAPACITY.

    The Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 (Public Law 
109-121) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating sections 9, 10, and 11 as sections 10, 
        11, and 12, respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after section 8 the following:

``SEC. 9. WATER AND SANITATION MANAGERS TRAINING PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Establishment.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary of State and the 
        Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
        Development shall establish, in every priority country, a 
        program to train local, in-country water and sanitation 
        managers, and other officials of countries that receive 
        assistance under section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
        1961 to promote the capacity of recipient governments to 
        provide affordable, equitable, and sustainable access to safe 
        drinking water and sanitation.
            ``(2) Coordination.--The program established under 
        subsection (a) shall be coordinated by the lead country water 
        manager designated in subsection (c)(2).
            ``(3) Expansion.--The Secretary and Administrator may 
        establish the program described in this section in additional 
        countries if the receipt of such training would be most 
        beneficial, with due consideration given to good governance.
    ``(b) Designation.--The United States Chief of Mission within each 
country receiving a `high priority' designation under section 6(f) 
shall--
            ``(1) designate safe drinking water and sanitation as a 
        strategic objective;
            ``(2) appoint an in-country water and sanitation manager 
        within the Mission to coordinate the in-country implementation 
        of this Act and section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
        1961 with local water managers, local government officials, the 
        Department of State, and the Office of Water of the United 
        States Agency for International Development; and
            ``(3) coordinate with the Development Credit Authority and 
        the Global Development Alliance to further the purposes of this 
        Act.''.

SEC. 7. GRANTS FOR LOW COST CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION TECHNOLOGIES.

    Section 135(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act (22 U.S.C. 2152h(c)) 
is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end; 
        and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) provide grants through the United States Agency for 
        International Development to foster the development of low cost 
        and sustainable technologies for providing clean water and 
        sanitation that are suitable for use in high priority 
        countries, particularly in places with limited resources and 
        infrastructure.''.

SEC. 8. UPDATED REPORT REGARDING WATER FOR PEACE AND SECURITY.

    Section 11(b) of the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 
2005, as redesignated by section 6, is amended by adding at the end the 
following: ``The report submitted under this subsection shall include 
an assessment of current and likely future political tensions over 
water sources and an assessment of the expected impacts of global 
climate change on water supplies in 10, 25, and 50 years.''.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2009 and 
each subsequent fiscal year such sums as may be necessary to carry out 
this Act and the amendments made by this Act.

SEC. 10. CONSTRUCTION.

    This Act shall be implemented in a manner consistent with the 
Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-121). 
Nothing in this Act shall be construed in such a way as to override or 
take precedence over the implementation of that Act.
                                 <all>