State of U.S. Foreign Assistance, One Year Later

In the year since the release of InterAction’s Foreign Assistance Briefing Book, U.S. foreign assistance concerns have had to compete with urgent domestic concerns, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Pakistan’s instability as well as the worldwide financial crisis and a bold domestic agenda. This Foreign Assistance Briefing Book Progress Report revisits a number of the actions recommended by InterAction one year ago and gauges their status.

InterAction believes the Obama administration’s real commitment to raising development as a central tenet of U.S. foreign policy is commendable. We remain concerned, however, that no visible progress has been made on one of the most critical of all its recommendations—the naming of an administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to strengthen the voice and role of development in Department of State and government-wide deliberations. Without a confirmed USAID administrator and without an ongoing commitment to elevate development not just as a policy framework but as a capacity delivered through effective bureaucratic structures, this powerful vision of the role development must play in U.S. foreign policy will falter.

We particularly commend the efforts of several members of congress. Under the leadership of Chairman Berman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Chairman Kerry, Ranking Member Lugar and Senators Menendez, Croker and Cardin of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, historic and momentous efforts are underway to address deficits in foreign assistance resources and responsibilities at USAID and within other U.S. government agencies.

November 2009 Updates