During the recent campaign, President-elect Barack Obama pledged to "double our annual investments in foreign assistance to $50 billion by 2012 and ensure that these new resources are invested wisely with strong accountability measures and directed towards strategic goals."
In his statement on the announcement of the President-elect's national security team, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) also expressed his desire to modernize U.S. foreign assistance, saying,
"I have two major priorities in the coming Congress, foreign aid and national security reform, and I believe this new team shares my sense of their importance."
In light of the growing belief that, despite considerable successes, U.S. foreign assistance programs can be even more effective, the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) is pleased to bring together a distinguished panel of speakers to discuss the state of U.S. foreign assistance as well as prospects for modernizing and enhancing our efforts in the new Congress.
MFAN will also release the results of a new poll on American support for foreign aid reform.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
10:00am--11:30am
at
2172 Rayburn House Office Building
(Independence Ave. & S. Capitol St., SW), Washington DC
Panelists:
Robin Roizman, Professional Staff Member, House Foreign Affairs Committee
Mark Gage, Republican Senior Policy Advisor and Director of European Affairs, House Foreign Affairs Committee
Mark Lopes, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs and International Environmental Protection
Connie Veillette, Senior Professional Staff Member, Office of Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), Ranking Member, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Moderator:
Steve Radelet, MFAN Co-Chair and Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development
RSVP to Didier Trinh at (202) 464-8189 or dtrinh@modernizingforeignassistance.org
The Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) is a reform coalition composed of international development and foreign policy practitioners, policy advocates and experts, concerned citizens and private sector organizations. MFAN’s goal is to promote critical foreign assistance reform that will help build a safer, more prosperous world by strengthening the United States’ ability to alleviate extreme poverty, create opportunities for growth, and secure human dignity in developing countries. For more on MFAN’s leadership and reform plan, please visit www.modernizingforeignassistance.net.
