For the last several months, a number of global development-focused NGOs across the United States have been advocating to update the way the U.S. administers its development programs. ONE is asking Congress and the Obama Administration to elevate development as a national priority and update the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (the legislation that governs how foreign assistance works). By streamlining and updating the channels through which US contributions are distributed, we can ensure that U.S dollars are put to use more quickly and more expansively.

For an overview of why modernizing foreign assistance is necessary, check out this Reuters article. The authors draw from the perspectives of Howard Berman, a senior Democrat who heads the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, World Bank President Robert Zoellick, Steve Radelet, a senior fellow at Washington’s Center for Global Development, and the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN – of which ONE is a member).

For more information on MFAN, please see www.modernizingforeignassistance.net.

-Sara Rogge