September 22, 2010

Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act Passes Through Senate


Your Advocacy Saves Lives

The Water=Hope Campaign celebrates that on Monday, September 20, 2010, the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act passed through the Senate unanimously.

We want to thank the leadership of Assistant Senate Majority Leader Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) and their cosponsors for sponsoring this bill which places water in the forefront of America’s development priorities, seeking to reach 100 million people around the world with sustainable access to clean water and sanitation over the next six years.

Over 10,000 of your signatures were mailed in this summer letting your Senators know that you cared about providing clean, safe water to the world's poorest.

They heard your voice.

Thank you for taking the time to advocate with Water=Hope. Because you cared, lives will be saved.

More about the bill...

The Water for the World Act represents a robust U.S. contribution to the Millennium Development Goal on water, which is to reduce by 50 percent the proportion of the world population without safe water and sanitation by six years. The Senate passage of the bill comes at a time when there is a redoubling of efforts tied to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for water and sanitation at the MDG Summit in New York City this week.

To achieve the goal of reaching 100 million people with sustainable access to clean water and sanitation, the bill:

• Targets underdeveloped countries with focused initiatives to improve access to clean water and sanitation;

• Fosters global cooperation on research and technology development, including regional partnerships among experts on clean water;

• Provides technical assistance and capacity-building to develop expertise within countries facing water and sanitation challenges;

• Provides seed money for the deployment of clean water and sanitation technologies; and

• Strengthens the human infrastructure at USAID and the State Department to implement clean water and sanitation programs effectively and to ensure that water receives priority attention in our foreign policy efforts.

For more, see the Durbin-Corker Press Release.

What Next?

A similar bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Donald Payne (D-NJ).

Click HERE to see if your congressional representative is a co-sponsor.

We will continue advocating with the House of Representatives to hopefully see the passage of this bill through the House and then on to the President. We hope you will join us in this effort.

Thanks for your support,

Bill Frist Signature

Bill Frist, M.D.