LegiStorm

Summary:

In the decades since the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 became law, Congress, various Administrations, and a number of Commissions, have reviewed U.S. foreign aid programs and proposed ways to improve the coordination and effectiveness of U.S. foreign assistance by consolidating or otherwise restructuring various agencies. Two recent trends in foreign assistance have renewed interest in this issue. First, foreign assistance funding has expanded considerably since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, from just over $15 billion in FY2001 to more than $45 billion in FY2007, including supplemental appropriations. Second, there has been an increase during this same time period in the number of agencies implementing foreign assistance. U.S. foreign assistance has long been carried out by multiple U.S. government agencies, including the State Department (State), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Department of Defense (DOD) and many others, to a lesser extent. In 2007, 24 U.S. government agencies reported disbursing foreign assistance resources. With so many entities administering foreign aid, often with different objectives, many aid experts have questioned whether these agencies are working at cross-purposes. Where agencies have similar objectives, there is concern that they may be duplicating each others' efforts. There is no overarching mechanism in place for coordinating or evaluating this broad range of activities. There are, however, several less-comprehensive systems of coordination in place among various departments and agencies, using means as varied as National Security Council policy coordination committees, new information-sharing technology systems, and inter-agency staff exchanges. There is little consensus among policy makers and aid experts about how best to improve coordination, or even the need for more formal coordination. Some argue that the multiple funding accounts and implementing agencies appropriately reflect the wide range of competencies that development programs require, as well as diverse U.S. foreign assistance objectives. Others say the lack of centralized coordination authority impedes U.S. foreign aid transparency, efficiency, and effectiveness. Still others argue that there has been insufficient evaluation of foreign assistance programs to know whether coordination is needed to improve program efficiency and effectiveness. Proposals aimed largely or in part at addressing these concerns include developing a national foreign assistance strategy, authorizing a new or existing agency to coordinate all foreign assistance programs, coordinating through the National Security Council, enhancing the ability of U.S. missions abroad to coordinate aid activities at the country level, separating strategic aid programs from development assistance programs, and enhancing monitoring and reporting activities. In the 111th Congress, foreign assistance reform proposals incorporating aid coordination provisions have been introduced by leaders of both the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations Committees. On the House side, H.R. 2410, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011, and H.R. 2139, the Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009, both include provisions to improve inter-agency coordination of foreign assistance. On the Senate side, coordination provisions are included in S. 1524, the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act of 2009. This report may be updated to reflect congressional action.