To the MFAN Network:
The past year was undoubtedly a challenging one for supporters of global development and foreign assistance reform. Abroad, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the famine that continues to devastate the Horn of Africa, and democratic revolutions throughout the Middle East put new pressures on people, policymakers, and practitioners alike. On the home front, the foreign assistance budget faced the most severe budget cuts proposed since the end of the Cold War, putting in peril not just our programs but the momentum that has been created for strengthening those programs over the last few years.
Thankfully, Members of Congress made the right decision to protect the International Affairs budget and our foreign assistance programs. In the process, they have also begun to embrace some important reform concepts and initiatives. There are opportunities on the horizon for additional progress, but the landscape for budgets and reform will likely continue to be challenging.
Before offering our annual year in review on foreign assistance reform and some detail on MFAN’s priorities for 2012, we wanted to thank you, our partners, for your hard work, without which last year’s accomplishments would not have been possible. We ask for your continued and enthusiastic support in driving the foreign assistance reform agenda forward this year.
2011 in Review
Arguably the most significant progress toward reform came in the fall, as key Members of Congress – House Foreign Affairs Committee members Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) and Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) – introduced legislative language that would enshrine elements of the reform agenda in law. Rep. Poe’s bipartisan Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act (H.R. 3159), which currently has 47 cosponsors, calls for stronger monitoring and evaluation guidelines across all U.S. agencies that work on foreign assistance and greater transparency of those programs. Rep. Berman’s comprehensive draft bill, The Global Partnerships Act, overhauls the outdated Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and reconfigures the U.S. foreign assistance system to not only meet modern challenges but ensure that every taxpayer dollar is spent wisely and effectively to deliver maximum results.
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