SFRC Pre-Recess Action on Foreign Aid

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee gave a stamp of approval to two pieces of US aid reform legislation before heading out for pre-election recess this week. There’s enthusiasm for the Foreign Assistance Transparency and Accountability Act (S.3310) in the development community, but views are mixed on the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review Act (S.3341), which the committee passed without a clear role for USAID.Here’s a breakdown of the two bills:The Foreign Assistance Transparency and Accountability Act (S.3310) SFRC Ranking Member Richard Lugar (R-IN) is the lead sponsor of this bill which requires aid agencies to set measureable goals, performance metrics, and monitoring and evaluation plans across all programs. It also makes the Foreign Assistance Dashboard a permanent fixture (we’ve applauded this before). Better aid transparency is a no-brainer which explains why the companion bill in the House (H.R. 3159) has 55 cosponsors from both sides of the political aisle.  That said, the legislation will have to stay clean and simple (and grapple with any cost implications) to avoid congressional bumps down the road. (And we’re still waiting to see the final SFRC-approved language for any changes.)The Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review Act (S.3341) Sponsored by SFRC Chairman John Kerry (D-MA), this bill permanently institutes a review of the US diplomacy and development every four years (akin to the Department of Defense’s Quadrennial Defense Review). Many in the development community advocated for a QDDR and continue to believe in the value of a regular process. They also credit the first-ever QDDR with clarifying some of the roles between State and USAID and beefing up USAID policy and budget authority. But the QDDR also took two years, countless staff hours and was fraught with turf battles. And a major critique of the QDDR mandate bill is that it fails to mention the USAID administrator who should have a lead role alongside the Secretary of State.It’s heartening to see bipartisan SFRC leadership—and action—on these issues. But what happens next, given the congressional recess before the elections and the lame duck session ahead, is anyone’s guess. How the administration (especially the State Department) works with Congress as these bills move through the rest of the Senate and the House, will matter a lot. The transparency bill, in particular, could be a valuable vehicle for the Obama administration to keep their good push on aid transparency going.