The world has changed dramatically in the last 50 years. But the way our country delivers assistance to the world’s poorest nations is still being driven by the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act. In 2009, Bread for the World members will urge Congress to rework U.S. foreign assistance to make it more effective in reducing poverty.
The opportunities and challenges we now face argue for a fresh approach to global development. By refocusing and streamlining our aid, and eliminating long-standing inefficiencies, we could increase U.S. assistance to poor and hungry people around the world, even in a time of fiscal constraints. The reform will improve U.S. support for progress against global poverty for years to come.
In 2009, a new president and a new Congress present a rare opportunity to make U.S. foreign assistance more effective and in the process improve America’s standing with other countries. U.S. assistance has helped to reduce child deaths, increase school enrollment, and curtail the incidence of AIDS. But more lives can be saved if foreign aid is fixed. Fewer children will die of hunger. Parents will be able to feed their families in the years to come. Better foreign assistance also means less waste and more impact for our tax dollars.
Currently our government’s global development policies and programs are scattered across 12 departments, 25 different agencies, and nearly 60 government offices. A more efficient foreign assistance system—with better coordination, better accountability, better clarity— means that people get help faster and more effectively.
We want the United States to be a leader in creating a better, safer world. To do that, U.S. foreign policy must elevate global development so that it plays a more prominent role alongside defense and diplomacy in our foreign policy.
We are asking Congress to pass legislation that strengthens the ability of the United States to promote global development, foster economic growth in low-income countries, and support the efforts of poor people to lift themselves out of hunger and poverty and become self-sufficient.
Our Principles
We will urge a new Congress and administration to elevate global development as a priority of U.S. foreign policy in order to restore America’s role in the world and strengthen U.S. national security. We will call on Congress and the administration to chart a new course for U.S. foreign assistance that embraces the following principles:
- Make poverty reduction a primary goal of U.S. foreign assistance.
- Develop a national strategy for global development with coordination at the highest levels of government.
- Provide reliable, flexible assistance in partnership with recipient countries to meet their long-term development goals.
- Provide opportunities for these partner countries and communities to participate in the development of priorities and programs of assistance.
- Focus assistance on outcomes, with measurable goals and objectives, including systems of accountability to Congress and the American people.
- Align U.S. aid, trade, migration, energy, and environmental policies so they work together to promote sustainable global development that reduces poverty.
- More closely coordinate with other international donors to reduce program duplication and the burdens on recipient governments.
Our Benchmarks
The effort to reform foreign assistance will likely take more than a year to complete. But in order to get the United States on the right track, we need to get started in 2009. Here are some benchmarks along the way that would show we’re making progress. At least some of these should be completed by the end of 2009.
- Congressional hearings on approaches to foreign aid reform
- Appointment of a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) administrator who shares some or all of Bread for the World’s goals and principles
- A sign-on letter circulating in Congress that embraces most or all of Bread for the World’s principles
- A presidential directive that mandates better coordination of U.S. foreign assistance and elevates attention to development in foreign policy decision-making
- Introduction of a bipartisan congressional resolution in support of Bread for the World goals and principles
- Substantive conversations (e.g., principles, structures, budgets, staffing) between the administration and Congress about new approaches to foreign aid and global development
- Appointment of a person or high-level group to formulate a national strategy for global development and/or foreign assistance
- House and Senate coordination and cooperation to write a new Foreign Assistance Act
- Introduction of legislation in both houses of Congress that represents an emerging consensus on a fresh approach to global development and U.S. foreign assistance
- Passage of legislation that charts a new course for global development and U.S. foreign assistance
As Christians, we know that peace is more than the absence of war. It requires building strong, healthy relationships, supporting people and communities who are working hard to provide a better life for their children, and removing the barriers to human dignity and fulfillment. That’s the work of U.S. foreign assistance and the goal of global development. That’s our opportunity and our challenge.
To learn more about the life-saving difference that effective development assistance can make, read on…
| Comments |
|
