April 29, 2009 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Two members of the House — one Democrat and one Republican — introduced a bill last night that would revamp how the U.S. government provides assistance overseas, a change many charities have sought.
The legislation, proposed by Rep. Howard Berman, Democrat of California who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Mark Kirk, Republican of Illinois, would focus on three areas: developing a U.S. strategy for providing overseas aid, changing how the U.S. government tracks and evaluates its work, and providing more information on how aid dollars are spent.
Many charities have been critical of how the United States delivers assistance abroad, saying it is poorly coordinated among many agencies and doesn’t always take into account the needs of people in poor countries.
David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, a charity that has worked with the One Campaign, InterAction, and other groups to press for new legislation and other changes, applauded the bill and said he was optimistic it would win approval.
“We think it’s great,” he said. “We think all the actors, Republican and Democrats on both sides and those in the administration, know foreign aid could be more effective but it’s a lot of work to get it right. This bill really launches the process.”
Leaders of charities that provide assistance overseas said poorer countries have faced difficulties planning long-term development projects because of how little information and clarity exists around U.S. aid. They said the legislation could help change that.
Aid workers also said they welcomed the bill’s emphasis on finding ways to measure the success of programs that go beyond what they called “bean counting.”
“We need to be looking at how many girls are getting an education because of U.S. foreign assistance, and how their lives are improved, not just at how pencils are sharpened or textbooks are bought,” Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America, said in a statement.
Mr. Beckmann of Bread for the World said he expected the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations to introduce similar legislation shortly.
