I 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2030 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 22, 2009 Mr. Blumenauer (for himself, Mr. Payne, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Boozman, Mr. George Miller of California, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Fortenberry, Mr. Welch, and Mr. Wamp) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To provide 100,000,000 people with first-time access to safe drinking water and sanitation on a sustainable basis by 2015 by improving the capacity of the United States Government to fully implement the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2009.

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 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)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 significant, 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)According to the November 2008 report entitled, Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World, the National Intelligence Council expects rapid urbanization and future population growth to exacerbate already limited access to water, particularly in agriculture-based economies. (8)A 2009 report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences projects that the effects of climate change will produce long-term droughts and raise sea levels for the next 1,000 years, regardless of future efforts to combat climate change. (9)According to the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, commissioned by the United Nations, more than 1/5 of the world population relies on freshwater that is either polluted or excessively withdrawn. (10)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. (11)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 and diplomatic deliberations, including those related to issues of global health, food security, the environment, global warming, and maternal and child mortality.

3.

Sense of Congress

It is the sense of Congress that the United States should lead a global effort to bring sustainable access to clean water and sanitation to poor people throughout the world.

4.

Purpose

The purpose of this Act is— (1)to provide first-time access to safe water and sanitation, on a sustainable basis, for 100,000,000 people in high priority countries (as designated under section 6(f) of the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 (22 U.S.C. 2152h note)) by 2015; and (2)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).

5.

Developing United States Government capacity

Section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2152h) 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 within the Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade. (2)

Leadership

The Office of Water shall be headed by a Director for Safe Water and Sanitation, who shall report directly to the Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade. (3)

Duties

The Director shall— (A)implement this section and the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–121); (B)develop and implement country-specific water strategies and expertise, in collaboration with appropriate United States Agency for International Development Mission Directors, to meet the goal of providing 100,000,000 additional people with sustainable access to safe water and sanitation by 2015; and (C)place primary emphasis on providing safe, affordable, and sustainable drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene in a manner that— (i)is consistent with sound water resource management principles; and (ii)utilizes such approaches as direct service provision, capacity building, institutional strengthening, regulatory reform, and partnership collaboration. (4)

Capacity

The Director may utilize interagency details or partnerships with universities, civil society, and the private sector, as needed, to strengthen implementation capacity. (f)

Special Coordinator for International Water

(1)

Establishment

To increase the capacity of the Department of State to address international issues regarding safe water, sanitation, integrated river basin management, and other international water programs, the Secretary of State shall establish a Special Coordinator for International Water (referred to in this subsection as the Special Coordinator), who shall report to the Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs. (2)

Duties

The Special Coordinator shall— (A)oversee and coordinate the diplomatic policy of the United States Government with respect to global freshwater issues, including interagency coordination related to— (i)sustainable access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene; (ii)integrated river basin and watershed management; (iii)transboundary conflict; (iv)agricultural and urban productivity of water resources; (v)disaster recovery, response, and rebuilding; (vi)pollution mitigation; and (vii)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. (3)

Staff

The Special Coordinator is authorized to hire a limited number of staff to carry out the duties described in paragraph (2). .

6.

Safe water, sanitation, and hygiene strategy

Section 6 of the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 (22 U.S.C. 2152h note) is amended— (1)in subsection (c), by adding at the end the following: In developing the program activities needed to implement the strategy, the Secretary shall consider the results of the assessment described in subsection (e)(9).; and (2)in subsection (e)— (A)in paragraph (5), by striking and at the end; (B)in paragraph (6), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and (C)by adding at the end the following: (7)an assessment of all United States Government foreign assistance allocated to the drinking water and sanitation sector during the 3 previous fiscal years, across all United States Government agencies and programs, including an assessment of the extent to which the United States Government’s efforts are reaching the goal of providing first-time access to safe water and sanitation on a sustainable basis for 100,000,000 people in high priority countries; (8)recommendations on what the United States Government would need to do to achieve the goals referred to in paragraph (7), in support of the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goal on access to safe drinking water; and (9)an assessment of best practices for mobilizing and leveraging the financial and technical capacity of business, governments, nongovernmental organizations, and civil society in forming public-private partnerships that measurably increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation. .

7.

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:

9.

Water and sanitation institutional capacity-building program

(a)

Establishment

(1)

In general

The Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (referred to in this section as the Secretary and the Administrator, respectively), in consultation with host country institutions, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Agriculture, and other agencies, as appropriate, shall establish, in every high priority country, a program to build the capacity of host country institutions and officials responsible for water and sanitation in countries that receive assistance under section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, including training at appropriate levels, to— (A)provide affordable, equitable, and sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation; (B)educate the populations of such countries about the dangers of unsafe drinking water and lack of proper sanitation; and (C)encourage behavior change to reduce individuals’ risk of disease from unsafe drinking water and lack of proper sanitation and hygiene. (2)

Coordination

The programs established under subsection (a) shall be coordinated in each country by the lead country water manager designated in subsection (b)(2). (3)

Expansion

The Secretary and the Administrator may establish the program described in this section in additional countries if the receipt of such capacity building would be beneficial for promoting access to safe drinking water and sanitation, with due consideration given to good governance. (4)

Capacity

The Secretary and the Administrator— (A)shall designate staff with appropriate expertise to carry out the strategy developed under section 4; and (B)may utilize, as needed, interagency details or partnerships with universities, civil society, and the private sector to strengthen implementation capacity. (b)

Designation

The United States Agency for International Development Mission Director for each country receiving a high priority designation under section 6(f) and for each region containing a country receiving such designation shall— (1)designate safe drinking water and sanitation as a strategic objective; (2)appoint an employee of the United States Agency for International Development as in-country water and sanitation manager to coordinate the in-country implementation of this Act and section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2152h) with host country officials at various levels of government responsible for water and sanitation, the Department of State, and other relevant United States Government agencies; and (3)coordinate with the Development Credit Authority and the Global Development Alliance to further the purposes of this Act.

.

8.

Other activities supported

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)foster global cooperation on research and technology development, including regional partnerships among water experts to address safe drinking water, sanitation, water resource management, and other water-related issues; (6)establish regional and cross-border cooperative activities between scientists and specialists that work to share technologies and best practices, mitigate shared water challenges, foster international cooperation, and defuse cross-border tensions; (7)provide grants through the United States Agency for International Development to foster the development, dissemination, and increased and consistent use of low cost and sustainable technologies, such as household water treatment, hand washing stations, and latrines, for providing safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene that are suitable for use in high priority countries, particularly in places with limited resources and infrastructure; (8)in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other agencies, as appropriate, conduct formative and operational research and monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of programs that provide safe drinking water and sanitation; and (9)integrate efforts to promote safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene with existing foreign assistance programs, as appropriate, including activities focused on HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, maternal and child health, food security, and nutritional support. .

9.

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 7, 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 multidisciplinary assessment of the expected impacts of global climate change on water supplies in 10, 25, and 50 years..

10.

Authorization of appropriations

(a)

In general

There are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2009 and for each subsequent fiscal year such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act and the amendments made by this Act, pursuant to the criteria set forth in the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–121). (b)

Use of funds

(1)

General water resource management activities

Up to 20 percent of the amounts appropriated to implement this Act may be used to support general water resource management activities that improve countries’ overall water sources. (2)

Other activities

Any amounts appropriated to implement this Act that are not used to carry out the activities described in paragraph (1) shall be allocated for activities related to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene.