June 18, 2019 (WASHINGTON) – This statement is delivered on behalf of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) by Co-Chairs George Ingram, Lester Munson, and Tessie San Martin.
The Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network applauds the Senate for confirming Sean Cairncross as Chief Executive Officer at the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), following more than two years of interim leadership at the MCC.
The White House nominated Sean Cairncross to be CEO in January 2018 and re-nominated him in January 2019. The MCC fights global poverty through economic growth in partnership with countries that meet rigorous standards for good governance, economic performance, and citizen investments.
Adequate resources, including sufficient and skilled staff and political leadership, are critical to effectively fulfilling the mission of U.S. development agencies of advancing national security, growing the global economy, and promoting U.S. values abroad. MFAN has urged the Trump administration to nominate high-quality, credible individuals to all vacancies, and has equally urged the Senate to confirm qualified nominees expeditiously.
“Career staff, American taxpayers, and our partner countries deserve agencies with strong leadership in place,” said Tessie San Martin, MFAN Co-Chair and President & CEO of Plan International USA. “Now the MCC can focus on what it does best – fighting global poverty through economic growth.”
“The MCC is a highly effective U.S. foreign aid agency and leader in transparency, results, and monitoring and evaluation,” said George Ingram, MFAN Co-Chair and Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institution. “Confirmed leadership will enable the agency to continue its work with efficiency and purpose.”
“I’m glad to see action finally taken to confirm a CEO at the MCC,” said Lester Munson, Principal at BGR Group. “Qualified leadership is not a political issue, it’s a question of effectively enabling our aid agencies to fulfill their missions.”
MFAN thanks the Senate for supporting the work of the Millennium Challenge Corporation through confirming leadership, and looks forward to working with the new CEO to advance aid effectiveness at the MCC.
