Upgrade Aid Passes Committee

Nov 18th, 2009 4:43 PM UTC
By Kara Arsenault

Great news! Yesterday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act (S. 1524) in a 15-3 vote. This bill will give USAID (the agency handling most of our U.S. foreign aid) the tools and people it needs to better fight poverty around the world.

ONE members, interns and staff delivered our Upgrade Aid petition earlier this month with over 45,000 signatures from ONE members across the country.

Take a look at what Committee Ranking Member Richard Lugar (R-IN) had to say about the bill’s passage:

The bill we passed today…is the product of well over a year of research and analysis by Senators and their staffs. It has attracted the support of most development groups, led by the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network. It is co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 19 Senators, twelve of whom are members of this Committee. This level of backing for a bill related to foreign assistance structure is extremely rare. It provides an opportunity to build something approaching a consensus on this issue.

And here are some remarks by Senator John Kerry (D-MA), the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman:

This legislation demonstrates Congress’s commitment to strengthening the capacity, accountability and effectiveness of our foreign aid programs. With the U.S. facing critical foreign policy and development priorities worldwide, it is vital that we update our foreign aid programs to reflect the new challenges of the 21st century.

Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance, added:

I’ve been able to see our foreign assistance dollars in action and am proud of the role we are playing in producing positive change in the lives of millions around the world, but at the same time, I share the frustration of many Americans that our foreign assistance efforts have often lacked transparency, coordination, monitoring and evaluation. This bill begins to reinvigorate USAID to improve the coordination, execution and efficiency of U.S. assistance so we can make each dollar go farther.

And Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Chairman of the Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance, said:

This is one of the most significant pieces of foreign assistance legislation that has passed out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in decades. I am proud that this is truly a bi-partisan bill, developed in a collaborative manner and that it includes input from a wide range of voices. These programs are critical to millions of people around the world, they contribute to our mutual economic health, and are in the direct national security interests of the United States.

TAGS: ONE, Policy News, Upgrade Aid