This week's Update includes an analysis of a little-noticed provision in the Budget Control Act of 2011. Given the failure of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (or “supercommittee”) to come to an agreement in November, the provision revises the “security” and “non-security” categories to which the discretionary spending caps apply.

The December 2011 issue of Monday Developments Magazine

Today, Congress is passing and sending to the president the final conference agreement on the nine remaining spending measures for fiscal 2012.

As co-chair of the Congressional Caucus for Effective Foreign Assistance (CCEFA), Congressman Smith supports initiatives and advocates for legislation that improves the transparency and accountability of U.S. foreign assistance programs.

“Country ownership” has become an often used term in international development. The purpose of this paper is to provide some clarification by presenting InterAction’s definition along with an outline of its core elements and recommendations for ensuring meaningful stakeholder participation in U.S. government development processes.

This week House and Senate appropriators inched closer toward a nine-bill omnibus spending package to complete the FY2012 appropriations process by Dec. 16, which is the date when the continuing resolution currently funding the government is set to expire. Please see the Washington Update section for more details on the end game for FY2012 appropriations.

InterAction news release:

International leaders meeting in Bonn on Monday to discuss the future of Afghanistan should expand their focus from short-term stabilization efforts  to longer term development work that will have a lasting impact on the country.

Sam Worthington's op-ed on foreign assistance, published on the day of the CNN National Security Debate on 11/22/11.

After a week of rumor and innuendo, amendments and points of order, the FY2012 Senate State, Foreign Operations (SFOps) bill appears headed for inclusion in a nine-bill omnibus that leadership will attempt to push through by mid-December.

InterAction, Oxfam and Save the Children are quoted in the Croatian news publication.

http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/119130/siromasnima-ne-pakovati-krizu

ActionAid today issued the following reactions at the conclusion of the G20 summit in Cannes, France.

“The G20 summit outcomes show progress on tax and banking secrecy but fall far short of what is needed to resolve the world`s food crises,” said Soren Ambrose, Head of Policy for ActionAid.



 

Sam Worthington quoted. Members ONE and Oxfam were also quoted.

Bill Gates has urged politicians to use the proceeds from a financial transaction tax to fight poverty and disease

Sam Worthington quoted.

The president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, had planned to use his leadership of the G20 this year to highlight some of the needs of the developing world. Instead, the focus of G20 summit in Cannes has been on the threat of a Greek default and destabilization of the eurozone.

Sam Worthington quoted in G-20 photo gallery.

''The fact that it takes a report from Bill Gates to get development back on the agenda speaks volumes about how the G20 needs to shift its focus in the future from not only being in crisis mode but towards building a more inclusive, sustainable global economy"

Sam Worthington quoted in news story published by multiple media outlets including Germany's Greenpeace magazine.

InterAction and Oxfam (Mexico) are quoted in this article.

Sam Worthington quoted in Chinese news clip.

http://news.china.com.cn/2011-11/02/content_23799833.htm

The FY2012 appropriations continued on a contorted path this week as House Appropriations Committee Chair Harold Rogers (R-KY) outlined his path toward completing the process and details emerged that the next Senate mini-bus will likely include the State, Foreign Operations bill, along with Financial Services and Energy—Water.

NGO alliance InterAction applauds the recent introduction of the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2012 by Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX), member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs (HCFA).

The October 2011 issue of Monday Developments Magazine

This week, House and Senate committees scrambled to submit their recommendations to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (JSC) before today’s deadline.

This week, the House of Representatives cleared a short-term continuing resolution (HR 2068) that will keep the government running through November 18.

This week the full Senate Appropriations Committee approved its FY2012 State, Foreign Operations bill by a 28-2 vote. The bill provided $44.6 billion in discretionary spending, with an additional $8.7 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO).

InterAction News Release: NGO alliance InterAction supports the level of 2012 funding for international affairs approved Wednesday by the Senate Appropriations Committee in a bipartisan 28-2 vote.

InterAction and 129 NGOs placed an ad in Roll Call magazine this week.  The ad was an open letter to Congress, asking them to oppose the severe cuts to foreign aid proposed in the current budget.  

This week the House Appropriations Committee unveiled the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2012, a stopgap measur

After a nearly month-long recess, Congress—and thus, InterAction’s Weekly Update—rolled back into town this week.

Steinberg's remarks are titled, "Delivering Effectivev Development Assistance in a Changing Global Landscape."

InterAction continues to monitor the situation in the Horn of Africa and advocate for the needs of the over 12 million people who have been affected by the drought that has engulfed the region.

Recent developments in the aid strategy of the United States — such as reversing a previous reduction in technical experts, and promoting more country-driven, outcome-oriented systems — have been endorsed by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic

Current budget battles in Washington could result in an erosion of our country's "soft power" as US agencies who implement core foreign assistance programmes come under financial attack.

Legislation that would sharply cut U.S. foreign aid programs and slash support for family planning advanced on Wednesday in the Republican-controlled House, drawing protests from State Department officials and relief agencies.

InterAction Statement: Proposed cuts included in the State Department and foreign operations appropriations bill in the House of Representatives would have devastating consequences for the world's most vulnerable populations and gut core development and humanitarian spending accounts, said InterAction, the biggest alliance of U.S.-based international NGOs on Wednesday.

On July 21, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs passed H.R.2583, the FY2012 Foreign Relations Authorization Act, on a party-line vote of 23-20. The mark-up, which clocked in at over 30 hours, was thoroughly partisan with very few substantive bipartisan amendments adopted.

Read how atoll permaculture in the Solomon Islands is helping to secure the food supply in spite of rising sea levels, and about the 150-year-strong Eight O’May luncheon that benefits organizations including Episcopal Relief &

On Capitol Hill next week, the House Foreign Affairs Committee is holding a markup hearing of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2012 on Wednesday, July 20 at 10:00am in room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Check for other upcoming hearings in the Update below.

On July 8, the full House of Representatives passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2012 by a 336-87 vote, with 12 Republicans and 75 Democrats opposing the spending measure.

InterAction News Release: At a critical juncture in the deficit reduction talks a diverse coalition of over 40 prominent international and domestic NGOs have joined the leaders of dozens of national faith organizations in calling on the Obama administration and congressional leadership to protect programs benefitting poor and hungry people both here and abroad from budget cuts.

InterAction watched with interest this week President Obama’s speech on troop levels in Afghanistan. With much of the attention centered on the aspects of the security transition, the face of long-term development in Afghanistan remains to be seen. In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted that the U.S.

This week, The House this week passed its FY2012 Agriculture appropriations bill, containing deep cuts to international food aid grant funding—even as volatility in global food prices persists.

This week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was busy with several nominations hearings, including one for former U.S. ambassador to both Pakistan and Iraq, Ryan Crocker, who this time is up for the position in Afghanistan. Furthermore, Dr. Ariel Pablos Mendez testified on Tuesday to be the next USAID Assistant Administrator for Global Health.

This week, the House of Representatives (the Senate was in recess) held a couple of hearings of interest to development and humanitarian community. On Wednesday, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia heard testimony from administration officials regarding the upcoming U.S.

A new USAID program allows companies of all sizes including large corporations, to send professionals abroad to local governments and groups in developing nations. Sam Worthington is quoted in a MSNBC article saying that a partnership of government, corporations and non-profits is essential for achieving the Millennium Dvelopment Goals.

At the G-8 summit in France, Obama wins support for aid to shore up emerging democracies and movements. Aid groups are skeptical, noting that the G-8 is behind on previous financial pledges.

The G8 is committed to aid effectiveness in the areas of global health and food security. Food security is central in the G8's development concerns as the countries focus on financial aid as well as research. The G8 has also mobilized over 40 percent of the $60 billion that was pledged towards global health in 2007.

ONE's 2011 DATA Report is about how donor funding up to 2010 has not matched the amount agreed to by G8 nations at the 2005 Summit in Gleneagles.

May 13, 2011 InterAction News Release: InterAction President and CEO Samuel A. Worthington said on Friday he was very disappointed with the latest cuts made by U.S. House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) in the  2012 foreign operations budget.

Arthur Keys, President and CEO of IRD stated today: "I was concerned when reading a Washington Post article by its Afghanistan reporter Rajiv Chandrasekaran which inaccurately portrayed the situation on the ground in Afghanistan with c

In the federal budget debate, Rep. Paul Ryan proposes cutting back U.S. foreign aid significantly. Here, U.S. Reps. Adam Smith and Jim McDermott as well as Global Washington founder Bill Clapp argue that such aid helps U.S. security and trade.

InterAction's analysis of the FY2011 federal budget for the last half of the year, to be signed by President Obama today. The analysis covers several humanitarian and development related accounts that InterAction tracks for members.

Note: Last updated April 20, 2011.

On April 14, 2011, InterAction President and CEO Samuel A. Worthington testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. His testimony, below, championed the importance and value of the poverty-focused development and humanitarian accounts administered by USAID and the State Department.

INTERACTION STATEMENT: With food prices at record levels, financial leaders meeting in Washington this week must urge their governments to follow through on pledges they made two years ago to improve food security. 

Negotiations over FY2011 spending between Senate Democrats and House Republicans remain at an impasse this afternoon. A government shutdown looms if an agreement is not reached by midnight tonight. Please check out InterAction’s extended coverage of the FY 2011 appropriations process in the Washington Update section below.

NGO alliance InterAction welcomes World Bank President Robert Zoellick’s speech today in which he described the importance of civil society's role in development economics.

Collaboration is often key to advocacy success, and coalitions are one of the most common forms of collaboration. Understand coalitions and networks from an evaluative perspective, and learn about how to assess coalition member capacity, coalition capacity, and coalition achievements. 

Japan continues to reel from the multiple disasters triggered by last Friday’s massive earthquake near its northeast coast. The media attention following this disaster has brought about a compassionate response from Americans. InterAction has developed guidelines on the most appropriate ways to help those affected by overseas disasters.

Our thoughts are with those in Japan and other countries across the Pacific Ocean that have been affected by the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami. InterAction member organizations have strong partnerships with civil society groups in Japan that are responding.

Earlier this afternoon, the Senate Appropriations Committee released detailed text of its Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011.

The American public appears to be clamoring for a discussion about the size and scope of the federal government. But how can Washington have a serious debate when most Americans are ignorant of what is in the budget?

InterAction statement on crisis in Libya, March 1, 2011

InterAction's G8/G20 Task Force released a 2011 G20 Summit Policy Paper entitled G20 Must Increase Its Fight Against Corruption earlier last week.

Transcript of a State Department discussion on its FY2012 budget request.

Letter to the editor in The Miami Herald on why now is the wrong time to be cutting U.S. foreign assistance.

Letter from State Department Assistant Secretary of Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration Eric Schwartz. Posted from Liberia, the letter explores the positive impact of U.S. foreign assistance while the House of Representatives makes massive cuts in the FY2011 budget.

Article in The Washington Post on the cuts to the foreign assistance accounts in the federal FY2011 budget. Staff from InterAction members World Food Program USA, World Vision and ONE are interviewed.

Why it is worth investing in defense, diplomacy and development.

House of Representatives’ "Continuing Resolution (CR) Extension" bill for the rest of fiscal year 2011ignores the recommendations of military and business leaders and prioritizes relatively miniscule short-term budget savings over long-term security, prosperity and fiscal health.

President Obama’s proposed 2012 budget calls for a modest increase—1 percent—in spending on foreign affairs and development.

InterAction member CARE's statement on the FY2011 Continuing Resolution.

Offers line-by-line details on how InterAction is crunching the 2012 International Affairs Budget numbers. 

Note: Last updated June 27, 2011.

Americans think they give far more aid than they actually do, and are clamorring to cut it. But aid isn't just about compassion, it serves our security and economic interests too.

Weekly Public Policy Update for Feb. 11, 2011. Covers the upcoming federal budget discussions next week and several hearings on Capitol Hill that took place Feb. 7-11, 2011.

The USG delivers more than $58 billion a year in foreign assistance through more than 20 agencies. This pie chart shows the slice of the federal budget that is appropriated for foreign assistance managed by State and USAID, which represents about 1% of the USG federal budget

 A new poll shows Americans continue to vastly overestimate the amount of foreign assistance given by the United States. Conducted by the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland, the November poll finds the median estimate of the percentage of the federal budget most Americans think is spent on foreign aid is 25%.

Global development assistance efforts are experiencing a critical moment of change. This moment is not a week or month but a several-year period in which political scales are tipping, rationales and underlying assumptions are being reexamined, and new systems and approaches are emerging.

"If you don't want to use military force any more than you have to, count me in. State Department, USAID, all of these programs, in their own way, help win this struggle against radical Islam. The unsung heroes of this war are the State Department officials, the [Department of Justice] officials, and the agricultural people who are going out there."

“We estimate that between 2005 and 2010, nearly half a billion people escaped extreme hardship, as the total number of the world's poor fell to 878 million people. Never before in history have so many people been lifted out of poverty in such a short period.”

InterAction's G8/G20 Task Force released its 2011 G8 Summit Policy Paper entitled U.S. Leadership at the May G8 Summit late last week.

Article from the Huffington Post one year after the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti. InterAction's president and CEO, Samuel A. Worthington, was interviewed.

InterAction member Heifer International's one year progress report on work done in Haiti since the January 12, 2010, earthquake.

Article from Scientific American on the health sector in Haiti one year after the January 12, 2010, earthquake, including discussion on NGOs' impact.

Blog on AlertNet on the media's criticism of the humanitarian response in Haiti, and why it's simultaneously incomplete, appropriate and constructive.

U.S. Department of State fact sheet on an agreement to develop the North Industrial Park in Haiti to create 20,000 permanent jobs.

InterAction member IRD's report on activities they've completed in Haiti in the year since the January 12, 2010, earthquake.

Transcript of an interview of InterAction's president and CEO, Sam Worthington, and the State Department's Special Coordinator for Haiti, Thomas Adams, on the way forward in Haiti after the one year anniversary of the earthquake on January 12, 2010.

Transcript of a U.S. Department of State Special Briefing on Haitian food security from January 7, 2011.

InterAction member Oxfam's report in January 2011 on what is needed for good governance in Haiti after the January 12, 2010, earthquake.

InterAction member Catholic Relief Services' one-year report on their work since the earthquake on January 12, 2010, in Haiti.

A March 2010 report from InterAction member Oxfam on re-envisioning Haiti with "equity, fairness, and opportunity" after the January 12, 2010, earthquake.

An article from NPR's website exploring both sides of the debate on the funds NGOs in Haiti have raised since the January 12, 2010, earthquake compared to how much they have spent.

An article from the Associated Press (AP) on some of the hurdles facing Haiti's reconstruction after the January 12, 2010, earthquake.

Agence France Presse (AFP) article in the Montreal Gazette exploring both sides of the debate on NGOs in Haiti.

Report from InterAction member World Concern on Haiti one year after the January 12, 2010, earthquake.

Article from the Miami Herald on fundraising for Haiti after the January 12, 2010, earthquake. InterAction's president and CEO, Samuel A. Worthington, was interviewed.

One year progress report from InterAction member United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) after the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti.

One year progress report from InterAction member the American Red Cross after the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti.

InterAction member Oxfam's one year progress report on Haiti since the January 12, 2010, earthquake. 

An article in Forbes on the dangers of using entirely foreign contractors to rebuild Haiti.

The people of Southern Sudan are a little more than one month away from casting their votes in a referendum on whether to remain part of Sudan or become an independent state. The referendum is the most significant milestone in a six-year interim period that began with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005.

•Largely unnoticed outside the region, the Sudanese states of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile have begun the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA)–mandated process of popular consultation, which permits Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile to either adopt the CPA as the final settlement between the two states and the Government of Sudan (GoS) or renegotiate the CPA to remedy any shortcoming

Sudan’s north-south civil war was the longest conflict in African history and claimed more than two million lives. In 2005, the United States played a critical role in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) ending that conflict and setting forth a roadmap for sustainable peace. Despite many lapses and some tragic violence, the agreement has held.

On 24 September 2010, the United Nations Secretary-General convened a high-level meeting on Sudan to mobilize international support for the Sudanese parties’ full and timely implementation of the final phase of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), including the referenda on the self-determination of the people of Southern Sudan and on the status of Abyei, and for the peace processes f

•Many of the post-referendum scenarios in Sudan envisioned by the U.S. Institute of Peace and Clingendael Institute one year ago remain plausible today, less than six months prior to the referendum.

Sudan is at a crossroads and the next 12 months could determine the future of Africa’s largest nation.

The Sudanese Network for Democratic Elections (SuNDE) is a coalition of over 75 civil society organizations in all the 10 States of Southern Sudan whose objective is to promote and protect citizens’ participation in electoral and democratic processes.
 

Ambassador Richard Williamson discusses the importance of the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act in testimony before the U.S. House of Representives Subcommittee on International Monteary Policy and Trade on November 30, 2010. 
 

Humanitarian supplies are being prepositioned at key locations in Sudan ahead of an expected referendum in the event of a possible mass movement of southern Sudanese from the north to the south, Valerie Amos, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said today.

For the past several years, significant U.S. attention has been focused on the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region, in which roughly three hundred thousand have died and nearly three million have been displaced.

In January 2011, after nearly six decades of armed conflict and tenuous peace, Sudan will hold a referendum to determine whether the south will remain united with Sudan or secede to become an independent nation. At the same time, Abyei is to hold a referendum to decide whether to join the South or remain in the North.

The clock is ticking fast towards what might be the most important date in modern Sudanese history – two
referenda in Sudan that are likely to result in the breakup of Africa’s largest state. With six months remaining
until 9 January 2011, the scheduled date of the referenda, the run-up to, and outcome of, the vote must be

InterAction responds to the Obama administration’s recent Afghanistan and Pakistan strategy review by welcoming the long-term commitment to the development needs of the two countries but also highlighting several concerns with the overall assistance strategies in the countries.  

The Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC)’s strategic plan for the remainder of its mandate. Report issued December 2010.

The capacity to respond to the urgent needs of vulnerable people in emergencies around the world is a central pillar of the U.S. government's foreign assistance portfolio. It should exemplify the impartial outpouring of humanitarian response in the wake of unthinkable tragedy.

John Ruthrauff, InterAction’s International Advocacy Director, is quoted in this article about the World Bank’s International Development Association agreeing to boost funding for low-income countries.

“For the first time, there’s been an attempt to rationalize the role of U.S. diplomats and development officers around the world and how diplomacy and development advance U.S.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released the long-awaited Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) on Wednesday, December 15, 2010, the result of a 17-month review of U.S. development and diplomacy policies. Called “Leading Through Civilian Power”, if offers a blueprint to better coordinate diplomacy and development in order that U.S.

The Obama administration is releasing the most comprehensive review of U.S. development and diplomacy efforts in half a century. The system which now delivers U.S. foreign assistance is based on legislation that was signed into law by President John F. Kennedy in 1961.  

Blog by Katie Gresham on the Development Assistance Task Force of the U.S. Summit for Global Citizen Diplomacy, November 16-19, 2010.

The November 2010 issue of Monday Developments Magazine

Bond, InterAction’s United Kingdom counterpart coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) involved in international development and humanitarian relief, released Seoul G20 Summit: UK NGO Briefing Paper on Tuesday, November 9.

Originally developed as part of InterAction's Africa Liaison Program Inititiative (ALPI) to foster relationships between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and nongovernmental organizations in the U.S.

The September 2010 issue of Monday Developments Magazine

InterAction President and CEO Samuel A. Worthington, in representative of the alliance of U.S. NGOs applauds the President Obama’s new global development policy.InterAction looks forward to co-work with the Administration to turn the policy framework into results.

The August 2010 issue of Monday Developments Magazine

InterAction applauds for President Obama’s action of announcing his MDG plan on July 30-over a month prior to the U.N. MDG Summit in September. Meanwhile, we strongly urges the Administration to consider the following key recommendations on each of the eight MDGs as the plan is finalized.

On an overcast and rainy May 25, CHF completed a payroll in Petit-Goave for 740 laborers in its ongoing cash-for-work program. Workers had spent the past two weeks demolishing crumbled buildings and removing rubble in support of the USAID-funded CLEARS program. At the payroll, CHF paid workers salaries totaling more than US$47,000, accounting for almost US$62 per person.

To continue supporting Haiti after the 7.0 earthquake on January 12, Giving Children Hope is transitioning from an immediate recovery response to a season of long-term reconstruction.  To date, Giving Children Hope has distributed over $7 million worth of life-saving medicines, medical supplies and other relief items.

The June 2010 issue of Monday Developments Magazine

6 months later, Haitians are still struggling to rebuild their nation after a devastating earthquake hit the country in January.

Agencies and donors participating in the ongoing recovery and rehabilitation efforts in Haiti are in need of current information about where assistance is needed and which areas of response are already being addressed. The U.S.

The Muskoka Accountability Report reflects the efforts of the G8 (Cananda, France, United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Japan, and Italy) to achieve a number of development-related commitments. It reports on G8 performance, assesses the reults of G8 action, and identifies lessons for future reporting.

Letter signed by 33 InterAction members to the Speaker of the House, House and Senate Majority Leaders and Ranking members urging them to give immediate priority to the FY10 supplemental funding measure.

Almost a year since more than three million people fled fighting in Pakistan’s Swat valley and surrounding areas, the crisis is far from over. Over a million people are displaced, more are being forced into displacement every day, and two million are struggling to rebuild their lives after returning to their homes to find their villages destroyed.

Letter from InterAction's President & CEO Samuel A. Worthington to the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittees on InterAction's recommendations for the anticipated FY2010 supplemental funding measure.

The January/February 2010 issue of Monday Developments Magazine.

Letter from InterAction's President and CEO Samuel A. Worthington to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah regarding the USAID Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance's announcement that it would reduce funding across all regions to make room for its massive response in Haiti

This is the latest version of InterAction's budget table, which include numbers from the President's FY2011 Budget Request and the FY2010 Supplemental Request.

Discussion paper on rewriting the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) for the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

See also: InterAction's Response to HFAC Discussion Paper #1

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