It’s hard to believe for those of us who advocate to Congress and the Administration year-round for international water, sanitation, and hygiene, but it was 10 years ago TODAY that President Barack Obama signed the Sen. Paul Simon Water for the World Act into law. Over this time, the WASH account at USAID has grown by more than 50% (now at $451 million in FY 2024, possibly to remain at that level next year if Congress ever gets around to approving FY 25….).
Here’s a Ten-Years-Later-Thanks to all who made that possible – the NGOs, our private sector partners, and others who advocated for it, and the members of Congress and their staffs who did it, especially our lead champions, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR, retiring this year), Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX, retired 2019), Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL, still a Senate leader), and Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN, retired 2019). To remind us , Senate Majority Whip Durbin posted this short item on “X”: