EPPN: Call on Congress to support foreign aid reform
[Episcopal Public Policy Network] President Obama and members of Congress from both political parties have proposed updates to U.S. international food-assistance that would reach millions more hungry and undernourished people each year without increasing budgetary costs. At the same time, these reforms would support local farmers and buttress local agricultural development around the world, ultimately providing long-term solutions to food insecurity.
These proposed reforms are part of a broader effort to modernize and strengthen U.S. poverty-focused development assistance programs. Updating our foreign aid mechanisms will strengthen our capacity to respond to vulnerable populations’ emergent needs and to enable those populations to sustainably support themselves in the future.
Yesterday, Representatives Betty McCollum (MN-4), Aaron Schock (IL-18), and James McGovern (MA-2) introduced the Global Food Security Act, which would contribute to these proposed reform efforts. If passed, the Global Food Security Act would authorize a U.S. food security strategy that emphasizes long-term coordination and multi-sectorial integration of agriculture, nutrition, and resilience-building programs. This comprehensive strategy would reduce extreme global hunger, improve nutrition, empower small-scale female farmers, increase a community’s resilience to shocks and stresses caused by extreme weather patterns and conflict, promote sustainable and equitable agricultural development, and ultimately strengthen food and nutrition security around the world.
The Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2013(introduced by Republican and Democratic senators and representatives earlier this month) would complement the Global Food Security Act by improving the transparency and evaluation of U.S. poverty-focused development assistance. This bill would establish uniform interagency guidelines – with measurable goals, performance metrics, and monitoring and evaluation plans – and would require the President to maintain and expand existing reporting mechanisms.