MFAN Statement: Berman Lays Strong Legislative Foundation for Future of U.S. Foreign Assistance

By: Staff Person
September 8, 2011

We commend House Committee on Foreign Affairs (HCFA) Ranking Member Howard Berman (D-CA) for introducing a discussion draft of the Global Partnerships Act of 2011. The draft legislation lays the foundations for a serious dialogue between the Congress, the Executive Branch, and civil society to reach consensus on legislation to replace America’s outdated and ineffective jumble of foreign assistance statutes. The reforms proposed by Rep. Berman build on the work the last two Presidents – and Republicans and Democrats currently serving on HCFA – have done to make our efforts to alleviate poverty, improve health, and drive economic growth in poor countries more effective and accountable.

Berman Defends Foreign Assistance

By: Staff Person
January 25, 2011

Congressman Howard Berman, Ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, spoke yesterday on the House Floor about the importance of the International Affairs Budget and why the Republicans proposed budget cuts threaten American national security. To read his full statement, click here.

Berman Hails Progress Toward Aid Reform

By: Staff Person
December 15, 2010

Congressman Howard L. Berman (D-CA), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, welcomed the administration’s release of a comprehensive reform agenda for the State Department and USAID, known as the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, or QDDR.

Chairman Berman Says It’s Time to Finish Foreign Aid Reform

By: Staff Person
December 9, 2010

In a new piece in The Washington Times, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) calls for Congress and the Administration to complete and institutionalize their work to make foreign aid programs “more effective, more efficient and more accountable.”

MFAN in the News: President Obama’s MDG Speech

By: Staff Person
September 23, 2010

In what MFAN and the development community have been working toward, yesterday President Obama announced the new visionary U.S. Global Development Policy – the first of its kind by an Administration.  As MFAN’s Co-Chairs David Beckmann and George Ingram noted in their statement yesterday, “With his speech laying out a new U.S. approach to development … Continue reading MFAN in the News: President Obama’s MDG Speech

Berman Hopes Obama Speech at U.N. Will Build Momentum for Aid Revamp

By: Staff Person
September 22, 2010

Don’t have a subscription to CQ? No problem. Read Emily Cadei’s article on House Foreign Affairs Chairman Howard Berman’s hopes for foreign assistance reform here on ModernizeAid. “I don’t have the ability to make foreign assistance reform happen myself,” Berman said Tuesday at a forum hosted by the Society for International Development- Washington. “We have to have buy-in from both parties, both houses and, most especially, the executive branch. This is not something that’s done over their opposition.”

Rep. Berman Reiterates Commitment to Foreign Assistance Reform

By: Staff Person
September 21, 2010

In remarks today at the first event of the 2010-11 program year for the Society for International Development’s (SID) Washington, DC Chapter, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) reaffirmed his plans to introduce a comprehensive foreign aid reform bill that would replace the existing outdated Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.

MFAN Co-Chair Beckmann: “Rhetorical Rubber Meets the Road” on Aid Reform

By: Staff Person
August 6, 2010

At stake is America’s ability to effectively address the global challenges of the 21st century. And the timing is important. In just two months, the eyes of the world will be on the Millennium Development Goals Summit, where committed nations must pledge new energy and resolve in the fight against global poverty. By showing leadership on foreign assistance reform, President Obama will attach actions to his words on development — and hopefully lead others to commit to more effectively empowering the world’s poorest people to realize a brighter future.

MFAN Statement: More than 200 Endorsers Agree that Aid Reform is Within Reach

By: Staff Person
August 5, 2010

August 5, 2010 (WASHINGTON) – This statement is delivered on behalf of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) by Co-Chairs David Beckmann and George Ingram: Forty days after President Obama pledged to issue a new development policy “in the near future” – and with no word yet on when it will be released – MFAN, … Continue reading MFAN Statement: More than 200 Endorsers Agree that Aid Reform is Within Reach