On December 14, Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Representative Ted Poe (R-TX), along with a bipartisan group of ten representatives, introduced the Senator Paul Simon Water For the World Act of 2012 in the U.S. House of Representatives.  This bill is an important step in maintaining American leadership on global water, sanitation and hygiene issues and ensuring that existing investments in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are effective and efficient.  This bill is the companion to a Senate version of the bill (S. 641) (PDF), which was introduced under the leadership of Senators Durbin (D-IL) and Corker (R-TN), and is a follow-on to a bill that passed the Senate last year with unanimous consent.

According to WaterAid America:

The bill would strengthen the implementation of the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2005 by:

• Improving the coordination of U.S. government agencies working on WASH and enhancing the sustainability of WASH programs, including by building U.S. government technical capacity, improving the targeting of resources to the countries and communities most in need of WASH assistance and prioritizing local ownership of programs.
• Establishing a Global Water Coordinator at USAID and a Special Advisor for Water Resources within the Department in State to oversee the effective implementation of country-specific water strategies, improve coordination and maintain political commitment to WASH. 
• Increasing integration of WASH programs with other critical interventions, such as child survival, global health, food security and nutrition and gender equality to increase the efficiency and impact of all, including through the development of a comprehensive WASH strategy.
• Monitoring and evaluating projects implemented by the U.S. government in order to promote sustainable and long-term development while reaching US foreign assistance objectives, and increasing transparency in reporting.

In introducing this bill, Congress has taken an essential step in improving existing U.S. international development programs seeking to address the water and sanitation crisis, as well as reaching the sanitation Millennium Development Goal target to halve the proportion of people with access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015.

Learn more about the response from U.S. NGOs in this InterAction Press Release (PDF).  Read the official press release on Rep. Poe’s website.

To thank Reps. Blumenauer and Poe, show your support on their Facebook pages (Blumenauer and Poe) and on Twitter (Blumenauer and Poe).