Congress PASSES 'WATER For The POOR' ACT

On November 16, 2005 the “Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act” (H.R. 1973) was passed by a unanimous consent agreement in the U.S. Senate. The House of Representatives recently considered the bipartisan bill, which was introduced by Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and E. Clay Shaw (R-FL), on November 7th and passed it by a vote of 319 to 34.

A parallel Senate bill, the "Safe Water: Currency for Peace Act of 2004" (S.492), introduced by Senators Harry Reid (D-NV) and Bill Frist (R-TN), had been sent to the Foreign Relations Committee for consideration, however, it will now be dropped because the Senate has agreed to the House's legislation. 

The Water for the Poor Act will amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to make increasing access to safe water and sanitation, in an affordable and equitable way, a major purpose of United States foreign assistance efforts. It expresses the policy that the United States needs to increase the amount of funds available for water and sanitation, supports innovative funding mechanisms, greater international coordination, and better integration of water and sanitation into other development efforts.

It also focuses American efforts to meet President Bush’s commitment to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of cutting in half the percentage of people without access to water and sanitation by 2015. It does this by making increased access to clean water and sanitation a specific objective of U.S. foreign assistance programs, setting out ways to do so in line with American compassion and commitment to the world’s poor, and requiring a strategy to meet specific benchmarks and timetables.

Citizens for Global Solutions recognizes the high importance of improving access to safe water and sanitation around the globe. We commend Representatives Blumenauer and Shaw for sponsoring this legislation and recognize the significant majority of Congressional lawmakers who voted in favor of this Act. 

Updated November 17, 2005