On July 28, 2009, the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee John Kerry (D-MA) introduced S. 1524, the “Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act of 2009,” to strengthen the capacity, transparency, and accountability of United States foreign assistance programs to effectively adapt and respond to new challenges of the 21st century. Senators Lugar (R-IN), Menendez (D-NJ), Corker (R-TN), Risch (R-ID), and Cardin (D-MD) were also original cosponsors.
The bill includes the following sections:
- A statement finding the promotion of global development, good governance, and the reduction of poverty and hunger as U.S. policy.
- Rebuilds the policy and strategic planning capacity at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
The bill establishes a Bureau for Policy and Strategic Planning, whose primary duties include developing and formulating U.S. development policy, ensuring long-term strategic planning, and conducting research and evaluation on development and aid effectiveness. The bill authorizes the establishment of a second Deputy Administrator position at USAID as well as an Assistant Administrator for Policy and Strategic Planning who will assist in matters relating to policy and strategic planning, program design, research, evaluation, etc. - Establishes a Council on Research and Evaluation of Foreign Assistance (CORE) to evaluate the impact of foreign assistance programs. CORE’s main purposes will be to evaluate the impact of U.S. foreign assistance programs and establish an integrated research and development program. CORE will undertake evaluations of U.S. foreign aid programs carried out by U.S. agencies as well as international and multilateral assistance programs receiving U.S. funding and produce a report highlighting their assessments and recommendations. CORE will focus on finding innovative approaches to foreign assistance and will issue a report to congressional committees on its findings. CORE will be a completely independent organization with an advisory board comprised of fourteen (14) individuals, including both government representatives as well as private-sector individuals who will guide CORE’s work. The bill authorizes appropriations for CORE for the following amounts: $30m for FY2011, $35m for FY2012, $40m for FY2013, $45m for FY2014, and $50m for FY2015.
- Begins the rebuilding of USAID’s human resources capacity. The bill requires the USAID Administrator to develop and implement a comprehensive workforce and human resources strategy for USAID in order to support the objective of promoting development and reducing global poverty. The strategy will focus on modernizing the workforce of USAID through determining personnel priorities, identifying professional development programs, and assessing future development and foreign policy priorities. The bill requires the USAID Administrator to establish a workforce and human resources task force that aids in the development of the strategy mentioned above. The taskforce is to be comprised of nine (9) members from both within and outside of the U.S. government. The bill requires the USAID Administrator to establish career guidelines for Foreign Service officers and civil service officers that incorporate rotational assignments with interagency, intergovernmental or international organizations.
- Strengthens development coordination in the field by bringing clarity to roles. The bill requires that the chief of each development mission, under the overall direction of the Ambassador, is responsible for coordination of all development and humanitarian efforts of the U.S. in a particular country. The bill expresses the importance of modernizing USAID missions for the 21st century and encourages USAID to undertake a comprehensive examination of the USAID mission structure and submit its findings to Congress.
- Increases transparency. The bill requires the President to make publicly available all information on U.S. foreign assistance on a program-by-program and country-by-country basis. The bill encourages the President to engage with and participate in the International Aid Transparency Initiative, established at the Accra High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness.
- Begins reform of USAID Administrative Expenses. The bill authorizes program funds to be used for travel expenses, salaries and related expenses, and costs associated with research and policy analysis in support of programs. The bill requires USAID to investigate how the agency can streamline and improve the efficiency of operating expenses.
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