Giving Compass' Take:

· Leah Rodriguez at Global Citizen talks about the increases to WASH efforts, foreign aid spending, and humanitarian assistance around the world in the the new United States fiscal year 2019 budget.

· How will this increase of $35 million in funding help address some of the UN's global goals? How can donors also support these efforts? 

· Check out this article about Trump’s 2020 budget proposal.

The United States Congress passed the fiscal year 2019 budget in Washington, DC, on Feb. 14, ending the longest government shutdown in US history.

President Donald Trump signed the new spending package into law, but it didn’t just ensure the government will remain open until Sept. 30, 2019 — a huge victory for federal workers and those affected by the shutdown. It also approved an increase of $35 million in funding for water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) efforts around the world, as well as increases for international development, humanitarian assistance, education, and global health, according to a statement from the Millennium Water Alliance.

The new budget features seven bills that were introduced in 2018 but didn’t pass, including the WASH spending bump — the largest such increase since 2014, when the budget was set at $400 million per year and stayed there for three consecutive years. The new budget directs the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to spend a minimum of $435 million on WASH under the 2005 Sen. Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act and the 2014 Sen. Paul Simon Water for the World Act. It also specifically allocates $195 million for sub-Saharan Africa right off the bat.

Between 2017 and 2018, 28,400, Global Citizens in the US and South Africa completed 53,500 actions to increase international affairs spending in 2019 for education and WASH programs that promote health and sanitation, as well as stability in communities around the world.

Read the full article about the 2019 budget by Leah Rodriguez at Global Citizen.