[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 155 (Saturday, September 27, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10004-S10006]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Corker, Mr. Kerry, and Mrs. 
        Murray):
  S. 3642. 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; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
  Mr. DURBIN. My predecessor and friend, the late Senator Paul Simon, 
championed the cause of water for the poor. Ten years ago he wrote an 
important and foretelling book, Tapped Out, in which he described the 
world's looming clean water crisis.
  Senator Simon was ahead of the curve. He identified this challenge 
long before many others, and urged the U.S. to lead on it. It is my 
privilege to carry forward his vision in the United States Senate 
today.
  I take this responsibility seriously--not only to honor my friend and 
mentor from Illinois--but more importantly to further this country's 
leadership in making access to clean water and sanitation possible for 
people in every part of the world.
  In 2005, Congress passed the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor 
Act to elevate the position of safe water and sanitation efforts in 
U.S. foreign assistance.
  We have made progress since then. Last year alone, the U.S. helped 
provide nearly 2 million people with access to a better source of 
drinking water for the first time. And we helped more than 1.5 million 
people access better sanitation.
  These are encouraging results, but our impact could be much greater. 
Our current efforts are hindered by limited resources and lack of 
overall strategy and coordination.
  To strengthen U.S. leadership in this area, I am pleased to join with 
Senators Corker, Kerry and Murray, and Representatives Blumenauer and 
Payne to introduce new legislation that builds and improves upon the 
2005 act.
  The Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Enhancement Act of 2008 
will increase capacity at USAID and the State Department to implement 
clean water and sanitation efforts.
  It will strengthen local capacity by adding a corps of water experts 
to USAID missions and by training local water and sanitation managers.

[[Page S10005]]

  It will foster development of low-cost and sustainable clean water 
and sanitation technologies for use in priority countries.
  In short, it will put the U.S. again at the forefront of assuring 
access to these most basic needs for millions around the world.
  We will not be able to make a sustained difference on the ground with 
good intentions alone. We need to back up the lofty goals in this bill 
with resources--money and personnel.
  We need to give our development experts the tools and support they 
need to get the job done well. That is why I've also led an effort in 
the Senate to increase the number of Foreign Service Officers and to 
urge the placement of water experts in USAID missions around the world.
  This kind of development assistance, helping to build infrastructure 
and alleviate poverty, is a crucial to our ability to lead and 
influence other countries.
  America's strength resonates not only from its military power but 
from the power of American ideas and values, from our generosity and 
diplomacy.
  I fear we have lost a measure of that influence in recent years. Our 
smart power has waned as we've focused our resources and attention 
elsewhere.
  Real leadership from the United States on water and sanitation will 
help stave off one of the world's looming crises. It will reassert our 
standing as a leader in the fight against global poverty.
  And, once again, Paul Simon was ahead of his time. What element of 
international development assistance could be more fundamental than 
ensuring access to clean water and basic sanitation?
  We often take water for granted in this country. Turn on the tap, and 
out it comes--clean, inexpensive and plentiful. Occasionally we hear of 
water shortages in a handful of states during times of drought. But for 
the most part, we think little about this crucial resource.
  Yet for many people in the world, access to clean water and 
sanitation are out of reach--and the problem may only get worse.
  In the past 20 years, 2 billion people have gained access to safe 
drinking water and 600 million have gained access to basic sanitation 
services. This is encouraging progress.
  Yet nearly 900 million people still live without clean water, and 
nearly 2 in 5 do not have access to proper sanitation.
  In the past century, global demand for water has tripled, and is now 
doubling every two decades. Rapid population growth, urbanization, 
pollution and climate change will add even greater pressures to an 
already strained system.
  This scenario is troubling for a lot of reasons.
  First, unsafe water is a serious threat to global health. The World 
Health Organization estimates that water-related diseases account for 
about one-tenth of the global disease burden. We lose nearly 5,000 
children each day to these diseases, and over 2 million people each 
year.
  We recently expanded our efforts to fight global AIDS--an effort I 
support--but antiretroviral therapy taken with unsafe water may do more 
harm than good.
  Lack of safe water threatens economic development and political 
stability. A developing economy cannot grow if its population is too 
sick to work or if its members are engaged in conflict over water 
resources, as in Darfur, for example, or in parts of the Middle East.
  Nor can an economy grow if its women and girls have to spend many 
hours each day gathering water rather than engaging in more productive 
pursuits. The UN estimates that women lose 40 billion working hours 
each year to carrying water. The economic repercussions are clear.
  Water scarcity has a serious impact on the environment, as well. The 
strain on natural resources will continue as global warming causes 
glaciers to melt and climate patterns to shift. We can expect key 
sources of clean water to be altered or eliminated in the process.
  So, this is a big problem. But the U.S. is in a position to make a 
big difference in the lives of the world's poor with strong leadership 
and investment in global safe water.
  U.S. leadership can and will make a difference in this most 
fundamental development challenge. I urge my colleagues to join with me 
in supporting this effort to refocus our global clean water activities.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3642

       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

[[Page S10006]]

     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.]
                                 ______