In the midst of ONE members’ activism to preserve President Obama’s FY2011 request of $58.5 billion for International Affairs, Representative Howard Berman (CA), Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, recently addressed an audience at the Center for American Progress on the topic of sustainable Security. In a well articulated speech on what the focus of U.S. foreign policy should be in order to achieve sustainable security, fighting poverty and the promotion of well-being and development in other parts of the world featured prominently.
He told the told the crowd that “We make it a priority to reduce poverty and alleviate human suffering around the world because it is the right thing to do, and because it reflects the compassion and generosity of the American people.” He also explained how helping others through a modernized, well-funded and foreign aid regime will serve to strengthen U.S. national security: “Poor and unstable countries make unreliable trading partners and weak markets for U.S. goods and services…Done right, development assistance is a sound investment in a better, safer world.”
To better understand the role of development in U.S. national security and the challenges of providing the most effective aid, I highly recommend you check out his full speech here.
On Tuesday, Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA), Chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee and Mark Steven Kirk (R-IL) introduced the ‘Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform’ Act of 2009 (HR 2139). The bipartisan bill represents a remarkable step forward in the effort to better organize and coordinate US foreign assistance programs. What is particularly striking about this important bill is new language requiring increased transparency in American aid programs for developing countries.
As a key member of the group who launched Publish What You Fund (PWYF), ONE has been actively involved in the debate around increasing aid effectiveness and is very proud of the advisory role PWYF played during the drafting process of a new bipartisan bill designed to increase accountability and improve the effectiveness of U.S. foreign aid.
Section 4 of the bill addresses how US aid will become more transparent, stating that “the American taxpayers and recipients of United States foreign assistance should, to the maximum extent practicable, have full access to information on United States foreign assistance.” Departments and agencies responsible for directing foreign aid will be instructed to post information on the internet about the amount of money disbursed as well as information about contract agreements and monitoring reports for specific programs on a country-by-country basis. Additionally, the bill instructs that information should be posted in a timely way. In addition, the bill states that because of the importance of understanding the role of foreign assistance from the United States relative to funding from other donors, the US should participate in the International Aid Transparency Initiative, established on September 4, 2008, at the Accra High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness.
Aid effectiveness is critically important, especially in these tough budgetary times. We’re excited to see a bipartisan team of congressional leaders introduce this bill and looks forward to working with the powerful group of unlikely allies, like William Easterly, to increase aid effectiveness, accountability and transparency. Keep an eye on the ONE Blog for updates on how we can help move this bill through Congress.
Howard Berman (D-CA), Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Mark Kirk (R-IL) have introduced a bi-partisan bill requiring the President to draft and implement a comprehensive National Strategy for Global Development. The Strategy requirement is one part of H.R. 2139 – Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009 – legislation that also strengthens monitoring and evaluation of US foreign aid programs and mandates greater transparency of aid resources provided by the United States.
With at least 12 departments, 25 different agencies, and nearly 60 government offices involved in US foreign assistance operations, a key element of the Strategy will be its interagency approach to set out a coherent framework to guide US efforts to reduce global poverty and promote broad-based economic growth in the developing world. Ideally, this will be led by the National Security Council, reaching out across all of government. Importantly, the Strategy will go beyond simply development assistance programs and consider broadly US development policies that affect poverty and economic growth in poor countries, including trade, debt relief, climate change and others. The legislation further requires the creation of a process to improve and strengthen coordination among the various departments and agencies engaged in foreign assistance.
With Development as one of the three pillars of US national security, along with Defense and Diplomacy, a National Strategy on Global Development is long over-due. President Obama has committed to a series of important global development actions, including a doubling of foreign assistance and major agriculture, education, and health initiatives. To avoid the existing fragmentation and conflicting purposes of US foreign aid policies, the implementation of a National Strategy will be a significant first step. But a more comprehensive overhaul of aid programs and apparatus is necessary. Chairman Berman promises that this bill is a “down payment” on a much broader and much more difficult task to re-write the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, an effort he plans for later this year.
Late Tuesday night, bipartisan cooperation in the House Foreign Affairs Committee moved us one critical step closer to approving the 5-year expansion of the “President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief” or “PEPFAR.”
The legislation they passed yesterday, “The Lantos-Hyde US Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria Act” would transition PEPFAR from an emergency response to a sustainable response program, and provide for expanded training for 140,000 new health care professionals and community care workers. The bill also strongly focuses on prevention and includes comprehensive efforts that place a special emphasis on women and on the underlying factors which make them vulnerable to HIV infection, including a focus on violence against women.
In all, the U.S. would provide lifesaving treatment for at least three million AIDS patients; prevent 12 million new infections; provide care for five million AIDS orphans; and train and support 140,000 new health professionals. The bill also provides $4 billion for the treatment and prevention of tuberculosis and $5 billion to fight malaria.
Although the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s action this week marks a critical momentum shift for PEPFAR’s reauthorization, the full House must continue to uphold this commitment to bipartisanship and pass the the bill (protecting all provisions) during a House floor vote.
ONE is campaigning to ensure that the Congressional budget does not cut foreign assistance programs like Feed the Future that help people break the cycle of poverty and hunger.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 60 years. More than 11 million people, mostly nomadic pastoralists and farmers in south-central Somalia, north-eastern Kenya, and south-eastern Ethiopia, are severely lacking access to food.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
As aid agencies warn more than 9 million people could be affected by a food crisis in East Africa, world leaders are failing to keep their 2009 promises to tackle the causes of chronic hunger and support farmers in the world's poorest countries.
