S. 3642: Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Enhancement Act of 2008

110th Congress · introduced 2008-09-27 · International Affairs · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (text of measure as introduced in Senate: CR S10005-10006)

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Where it came from: introduced 2008-09-27 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (text of measure as introduced in Senate: CR S10005-10006) Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Enhancement Act of 2008

Plain summary

Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Enhancement Act of 2008 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to establish the Office of Water which shall: (1) implement the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005; and (2) place primary emphasis on providing safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene. Directs the Secretary of State to establish the Bureau for International Water within the Office of the Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs which shall: (1) coordinate U.S. diplomatic policy regarding global freshwater issues; and (2) ensure that international freshwater issues are represented within the U.S. government. Amends the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 to: (1) direct the Secretary and the Administrator to establish in every priority country a program to train local water and sanitation managers to promote government capacity to provide access to safe drinking water and sanitation; and (2) require that the water for peace and security report includes an assessment of current and likely future political tensions over water sources and an assessment of the future impacts of global climate change on water supplies. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize grants through USAID to develop technologies for providing clean water and sanitation in high priority countries with limited resources and infrastructure.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Enhancement Act of 2008

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] · 3 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Patty Murray (D-WA)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] reported raising $84,084 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-110s3642.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/110/s>

Record fed-us-cong110-s3642 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong110 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong110