On December 8, the House passed, by voice vote, the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act (H.R. 2901). The House Foreign Affairs Committee approved the legislation on November 20 (see The Source, 11/21/14). The Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed its version of the legislation, S. 2946, on December 4 (see The Source, 12/5/14).
Among other provisions, the bill would require the president, secretary of State, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and heads of other federal departments and agencies to develop a long-term global water strategy to increase access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene in developing countries; improve water resource management in those countries; and “work to prevent and resolve…trans-boundary conflicts” over water resources.
The global water strategy would describe the annual funding for projects aimed at providing first-time access to safe water and sanitation. In addition, the strategy would be required to provide details, such as specific and measureable goals, benchmarks, and other evaluation plans. Best practices from the international development community also would be included in the strategy.
