Back in 2003 I was traveling in Mozambique with a delegation of Senate colleagues to take a closer look at U.S. policy on HIV/AIDS.  We found an HIV emergency, but we also identified a health need even more fundamental: access to clean water.

That was the trip that prompted PEPFAR, President George Bush’s unprecedented commitment to address the HIV crisis. But it was also the trip that spurred advocacy for the dire need for safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).

At Forbes on Thursday I wrote a bit about the history of U.S. water legislation.

On Friday, the President signed into law the  the “Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2014”. It’s been a long time coming: the result of the work we started in 2003 as well as the tireless advocacy of so many other lawmakers and champions since that trip.

I’m thrilled to see the hard work of so many people come to fruition!