blog logo image

Posts Tagged ‘senate foreign relations committee’

MFAN Statement: MFAN Applauds Administrator Shah for Restoring Policy Expertise at USAID

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010
Bookmark and Share

June 9, 2010 (WASHINGTON) – This statement is delivered on behalf of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) by Co-Chairs David Beckmann and George Ingram:

We strongly commend the Obama Administration and Administrator Raj Shah for the recent launch of the Bureau for Policy, Planning and Learning (PPL) at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).  MFAN and its members have advocated aggressively for rebuilding the policy capability within the U.S. government’s lead development agency.  The Bureau will restore the ability of USAID’s world-class development professionals to plan and execute innovative, 21st-century programs that deliver better results for the people we are trying to empower and U.S. taxpayers, while also contributing expert input into important national security and foreign policy debates that have major development components.

But the creation of PPL, which was also called for in S.1524 introduced by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) and Ranking Minority Member Dick Lugar (R-IN), is merely one stop on the road to making sure we get the most out of every development dollar we spend during this time of tight budgets and big global challenges.  We look forward to hearing more from the Administration and USAID on their plans to restore budgeting capacity and drive procurement reforms at the Agency, and we urge President Obama to show public support and leadership on development by taking additional steps:

  • Craft America’s first-ever U.S. Global Development Strategy – as recommended in the leaked draft of the Presidential Study Directive on Global Development Policy (PSD-7) – that can guide the development efforts of USAID and other agencies; and
  • Partner with Congress on comprehensive, durable foreign assistance reform legislation, in particular the rewrite of the antiquated, Cold War-era Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, a draft of which is already being developed by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA).

As a network, we are prepared to bring our collective substantive and operational expertise to bear to help the PPL create innovative solutions for our greatest development challenges.

For more information, contact Sam Hiersteiner at shiersteiner@gpgdc.com or visit www.modernizingforeignassistance.net.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in MFAN Statement | No Comments »

MFAN Statement: MFAN Applauds the National Security Strategy, Calls for More Action on the U.S. Approach to Development

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
Bookmark and Share

May 27, 2010 (WASHINGTON) – This statement is delivered on behalf of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) by Co-Chairs David Beckmann and George Ingram:

We applaud the emphasis on global poverty reduction and development in President Obama’s new National Security Strategy (NSS), which states, “Development is a strategic, economic, and moral imperative.”  We are also delighted that the National Security Strategy calls for “development capabilities [to] be modernized.” This new, integrated approach that harnesses all the tools of American power – including development – will go a long way toward confronting the challenges of today that include extreme poverty, disease, food security, environmental sustainability, and good governance.

The White House and State Department have been studying development issues for months through two major policy reviews, a draft of one which was recently leaked to the press.  While the Presidential Study Directive draft is commendable for stressing the need for a coherent, government-wide approach and outlining ways to revitalize and strengthen the U.S. Agency for International Development, we still need presidential leadership that will articulate a clear, overarching vision for U.S. efforts.

Now that the National Security Strategy is in place, we look to the President to outline his policies for international development and how our government’s capabilities in this area should be updated. Key leadership from both parties and in both chambers of Congress have already taken steps that will contribute to more effective foreign assistance. The President should signal that his administration is now ready to work with Congress on driving the reform agenda and making U.S. foreign assistance programs more efficient and effective for U.S. taxpayers in this time of tight budgets.

We understand that the White House intends to develop a first-ever Global Development Strategy to complement the National Security Strategy.  We hope that President Obama will be able to deliver this strategy in time for the United Nations Summit in September, so that we can engage our partners and allies – fulfilling another principle of the NSS – in the fight against global poverty.

For more information, contact Sam Hiersteiner at shiersteiner@gpgdc.com or visit www.modernizingforeignassistance.net.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in MFAN Statement | No Comments »

Ruth Messinger Ties Reform Message to AIDS Battle

Monday, May 17th, 2010
Bookmark and Share

Ruth MessingerRuth Messinger, President and Executive Director of American Jewish World Service — an MFAN Partner organization — last week issued an important call to action in a Huffington Post op-ed.  Messinger used a recent New York Times article, which reported the battle against the AIDS epidemic is failing, as a launching point to discuss foreign aid reform efforts.  She argued the Obama Administration should not choose to flat-line some programs while expanding others, and should instead engage on meaningful reform that would streamline U.S. foreign assistance and make it more effective.  Some excerpts follow:

“While the cost of AIDS treatment is significantly higher than the cost of rehydration tablets to treat diarrhea or the cost of mosquito nets to prevent malaria, it is impossible to quantify the cost-benefit of saving a child from malaria when her mother dies from AIDS.”

“One key lesson learned from fighting the AIDS epidemic is that taking a holistic approach to strengthening health systems is critical if we expect to have any chance of stemming the AIDS crisis. We must address childhood diseases, maternal health, and other essential public health issues that will have a broad and far-reaching impact on development. Through PEPFAR funding, the US has invested in building strong health workforces and health systems that do much more than just address AIDS. Shifting our focus to cost-effective — albeit vital — programs at the expense of holistic strategies that include fighting AIDS is neither strategic nor morally sound.”

“Instead of losing ground on one front in order to gain on another, we should explore creative methods to finance all the work that needs to be done by demanding a stronger commitment from global leaders and the US Congress. More broadly, we must support the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act (S. 1524) introduced in July 2009. The bill promotes global development, good governance, and a reduction of poverty and hunger. Specifically, the passage of S. 1524 will rebuild and strengthen strategic planning and human resources at USAID; address USAID operating expenses; increase accountability and transparency in US foreign assistance; and improve development coordination in the field.”

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Community, Pressroom | No Comments »

State Department Authorization Passes out of SFRC

Friday, April 30th, 2010
Bookmark and Share

On Wednesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) passed the State Department Authorization Bill, S.2971, by voice vote – the first State authorization bill to pass out of the SFRC in five years.  The revised bill focuses on reforms at the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), the State Department, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), among others.  The most noteworthy reform was the decision to redefine the MCC’s low-income country category to include 75 of the poorest countries, thus expanding the opportunity for the U.S. to partner with more well-governed countries – a recommendation proposed in a recent paper by MFAN Partner the Center for Global Development.  Aside from these technical changes relating to new candidate income, the bill allows for MCC compacts to be extended from five to seven years and for countries to have concurrent compacts.  These measures will improve the MCC model – a model that embodies many of the reform principles including partnership, country ownership, and enhanced monitoring and evaluation.

For details on the amendments to the authorization bill follow this link.  To read more about how the authorization bill’s new provisions for the MCC relate to reform, read CGD’s Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance blog.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Obama Administration, Senate | No Comments »

Lew, Shah Outline Obama Administration’s Food Security Plans

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010
Bookmark and Share

Jack LewRaj ShahIn a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing last week, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Jack Lew and USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah provided an update on the status of the Administration’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative (GHFSI).

Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) opened the hearing by calling food insecurity “a challenge to our broader development efforts” as well as a challenge to our national security.  He also referenced the proposed $4 billion cut in international affairs spending in the budget resolution passed out of the Senate Budget Committee, saying, “Even in a tough budget environment, short-changing programs like these, in our judgment, will deliver little budget relief at enormous negative consequence to our global efforts… And it seems to me that it is wrong, and we will fight against any efforts to reduce the president’s request for a small increase, which is essential to the transformation of our foreign policy efforts and frankly to the recalibration of the allocation of resources between defense and diplomacy and humanitarian efforts.”

(more…)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Obama Administration, Senate, State Department, USAID | No Comments »