ADMINISTRATION UPDATE

President Barack Obama
President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to global development when he released his first budget on February 1. He requested $58.5 billion for the international affairs budget, a $6.1 billion or 11.6% increase over the FY 2010 enacted level. The request continues the trajectory toward fulfilling the campaign pledge to double foreign assistance. The request for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is $1.28 billion, a $170 million increase over FY10 enacted.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
On January 6, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton started off the year with a major speech on global development. Clinton’s speech was the most detailed yet on the administration’s commitment to global development as a pillar of foreign policy and on the importance of reforming U.S. foreign assistance to more effectively reach our global development goals.

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah
Nearly one year into the Obama administration, Rajiv Shah was sworn in January 7 as Administrator of our key global development agency. Shah’s background includes degrees in medicine and economics, extensive experience at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a profound commitment to improving the lives of poor people around the world. He had been on the job less than a week when a devastating earthquake hit Haiti and President Obama designated him chief coordinator of the U.S. relief effort.

With Clinton and Shah in place, and Daniel Yohannes at the MCC, the administration’s global development team is nearly complete. President Obama has nominated Elizabeth Littlefield as president of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), but she has not yet been confirmed.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Senator Lugar: Foreign Assistance and Development in a New Era
In a speech to the Society for International Development, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Richard Lugar (R-IN) talked about the importance of U.S. foreign assistance reform. Senator Lugar called for a renewed unity of purpose among all foreign policy agencies and underlined the importance of giving USAID primary leadership of U.S. development policy. He also emphasized the need for Congressional involvement in ensuring the successful achievement of our development goals. These principles are reflected in the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act, S. 1524, which Senator Lugar and Senator Kerry introduced last year and which the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved in November.

Trade and Development
Congress extended the Generalized System of Preferences for one year at the end of December. Leaders of the trade committees in both the House and the Senate have expressed their hope to undertake comprehensive trade preference reform later this year. In addition to trade preferences, Members of Congress and development advocates support trade capacity building assistance – investments that help countries take advantage of new market access.

Expanded opportunities to trade and more effective foreign assistance are both critical in helping people in developing countries realize their economic potential. IGD and ONE recently submitted a letter to General Jim Jones and Dr. Larry Summers, co-chairs of the Presidential Study Directive on U.S. global development policy, recommending greater coherence between our trade and aid programs. The letter was signed by 19 NGOs, business associations and companies.