[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - United States Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced a bill this week which will increase the ability of the US government help provide clean water and sanitation programs abroad. The Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Enhancement Act will provide resources and personnel to the State Department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to better coordinate and implement water development goals.

“Access to safe drinking water is a right that everyone in the world ought to enjoy but too few are able to realize,” Durbin said. “Water access is no longer simply a global health and development issue; it is increasingly becoming a national security issue. The United States needs to do much more to ensure that global water access is protected and expanded.”

Almost one billion people in the world lack access to safe drinking water and two of every five people live without basic sanitation services. Global warming, rapid industrialization and population and economic growth will continue to put pressure on global water supplies, particularly in developing nations. Such water issues can no longer been seen as isolated problems, but must instead be viewed as factors contributing to regional tensions, global health, and child mortality.

The Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act, originally enacted in 2005, made access to safe water and sanitation for developing countries a specific policy objective of the United States Foreign Assistance Program. The Act was named after the late Illinois Senator, Paul Simon, who ten years ago warned of the world’s looming clean water crisis in his book, Tapped Out. The Act has already made a difference in the world helping provide nearly 2 million people with first time access to an improved source of drinking water and more than 1.5 million to improved sanitation last year alone.

“The most disturbing sight Paul Simon witnessed as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was in Somalia. People were dying for lack of water. He knew the United States had the ability and resources to be a leader in world water policy,” said Patti Simon, widow of Senator Simon. “The will to accept this challenge means long term commitment. The proposed amendments ensure our resolve to meet this challenge.”

The Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Enhancement Act amends the original Simon Act to:

• Coordinate USAID’s water-related activities through an Office of Water charged with developing and implementing safe, affordable and sustainable drinking water, sanitation and hygiene programs in developing countries.
• Provide in country expertise and training to local water and sanitation managers to expand access to clean water and sanitation in priority countries.
• Foster development of low cost and sustainable technologies to help provide clean water and sanitation for use in high priority countries, particularly where resources and infrastructure are limited.
• Elevate and increase the capacity of the State Department to address water issues as a matter of U.S. diplomacy by charging specific State Department officials in a new Bureau of International Water with a mandate to oversee and coordinate the diplomatic policy of the United States Government with respect to global freshwater issues, including access to water and sanitation.

Durbin’s bill is cosponsored by Senators Bob Corker (R-TN), John Kerry (D-MA) and Patty Murray (D-WA). A similar bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Donald Payne (D-NJ).

Last year, Senator Durbin played a leading role in providing $300 million in federal funds to help implement the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act.

Earlier this year, Durbin received the Water Advocate award for his work in promoting safe drinking water and sanitation in the developing world. The award was presented by Water Advocates - a U.S.-based nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing support for worldwide access to safe, affordable and sustainable drinking water.