On November 19, the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved en bloc, by voice vote, the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act (H.R. 2901).
The measure, sponsored by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), would amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (P.L. 87-195) to require the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to designate a global water coordinator to “coordinate and oversee water, sanitation, and hygiene assistance.” The bill also directs the secretary of State to designate a special advisor for water resources to coordinate and oversee similar policies.
The president would be required to develop a strategy every five years to further the U.S. policy objective of providing “affordable and equitable” access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene in developing countries.
In its findings, the bill notes that “[h]aving adequate and appropriate water supply and sanitation facilities in schools is a major factor influencing whether children, and especially adolescent girls, attend school” and “[a]dequate sanitation facilities and practices contributes to reducing malnutrition in children, improves the quality of life and dignity of girls and women, protects the environment, and generates economic benefits for communities and nations.” The bill also finds that “[d]iseases linked to unsafe water and poor sanitation, as well as the time and energy women often devote to collecting water, significantly reduce economic productivity in less developed countries and promote lifecycles of disadvantage.”
