At the core of ONE’s mission is the fight to eliminate extreme poverty, conquer preventable diseases and promote economic opportunities that will improve the lives of the world’s poorest people.
On July 5, the House passed H.R. 3766, the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act, by voice vote. FATAA is now on its way to the president for signature and enactment into law.
Over the past five years, ONE and other NGO partners have worked with Congressmen Ted Poe (R-TX) and Gerry Connolly (D-VA) as well as Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) to address ways to overcome ongoing budget constraints by improving how the U.S. oversees and manages its foreign assistance programs. FATAA will subject all U.S. foreign assistance spending to greater oversight, accountability, and transparency, just as the title suggests. It ensures that lawmakers, NGOs, and the general public will have greater access to information related to foreign assistance programs, including expenditures, effectiveness, and other performance indicators. Such increased oversight encourages more effective and efficient use of scarce resources.
Specifically, the FATAA will:
1) Require the President of the United States to establish and implement monitoring and evaluation guidelines that are uniform across U.S. international development and economic assistance programs
2) Establish measurable goals, performance metrics, and monitoring and evaluation plans
3) Require the Secretary of State to ensure the ForeignAssistance.gov website contains detailed information regarding U.S. foreign assistance on a program-by-program and country-by-country basis that is updated quarterly.
It would further require that analysis be undertaken by the Government Accountability Office to inform Congress on relevant agencies’ adherence to these benchmarks.
Enactment of H.R. 3766 is a huge deal and will do much to improve the life-saving programs we support. A big thank you goes out to the bill’s sponsors, House and Senate staff, and the incredible NGO partners who worked side-by-side with ONE to make this happen.
