See below for a guest post from Gregory Adams, Director of Aid Effectiveness at Oxfam America. This post originally appeared on Oxfam’s Politics of Poverty blog. Let me let you in on a secret; the United States needs help. In fact, as rich and powerful as the United States is, we still have problems we … Continue reading They know how to fight poverty, they just need a partner
On September 14th, MFAN hosted a town hall discussion on the Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development with representatives from the major government agencies focused on development.
My hat’s off to Congressman Berman and his staff, led by Diana Ohlbaum, for their long-awaited discussion draft of a new foreign assistance act, titled the Global Partnerships Act of 2011. It took three years to complete this draft, and we now know why. Rep. Berman’s staff produced a comprehensive, coherent, thoughtful draft and they did it through a meaningful, consultative process. They did not just clean up the tired old Foreign Assistance Act. They drafted a whole new law that reflects lessons learned and recent innovations, but most importantly,that sets U.S. foreign assistance squarely on a path to address the challenges of the 21st century
On the low estimate end, this would achieve $2 billion in savings annually, or $20 billion over ten years. On the high end, it would be $8 billion in savings in one year, or $80 billion over ten years.
Now, Senator Patty Murray, co-chair of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, has requested that organizations who signed onto the letter submit a separate letter from their organization in support of the International Affairs budget. Once collected, Sen. Murray will submit these letters to the official record during the committee’s deliberations.
See below for a guest post from MFAN Principal Noam Unger, fellow and director of the Foreign Assistance Project, and Homi Kharas, Senior Fellow and Deputy Director, Global Economy and Development, Development Assistance and Governance Initiative, both of Brookings Institution. They react to Secretary Clinton’s announcement that she would be attending the High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Korea and what it signals for U.S. leadership in development. This post originally appeared on the Brookings Up Front blog.
MFAN Principal Noam Unger’s recent paper for the Brookings Institution, “The Shape of U.S. Global Development Reforms,” offers a number of recommendations to the Obama administration on the eve of the first anniversary of the President’s global development policy, also known as the Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development (PPD).
See below for a guest post from Matthew Leatherman of the Stimson Center on the foreign affairs appropriations process for FY12. This post originally appeared on the Stimson Center’s The Will and the Wallet blog. Being built around the Budget Control Act has made the Senate position on FY12 appropriations, released last week, a better … Continue reading Stark foreign affairs and defense trade-off coming in ’12
Last Wednesday, MFAN held a town hall at the Newseum to discuss the Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development (PPD). Panelists took questions on their views on the PPD and progress their agencies have made on implementing the directive, while also touching upon the overwhelming sense of austerity and the potential effect of budget cuts on U.S. foreign assistance. One of the most predominate themes was that all panelists stressed the meaningful interagency coordination that has resulted from the PPD.
Yesterday, MFAN hosted a town hall discussion on the Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development moderated by Carol Lancaster, Dean and Professor of Politics, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. The panel included: Sheila Herrling, Vice President for Policy and Evaluation, Millennium Challenge Corporation; Marisa Lago, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Markets and … Continue reading Tweet Stream: Town Hall on PPD One Year Later
