Restructuring U.S. Foreign Aid: The Role of the Director of Foreign Assistance

摘要

The creation of a new State Department position -- Director of Foreign Assistance -- has sparked congressional interest regarding the management and any possible future reform of U.S. foreign aid programs. Charged with coordinating U.S. assistance programs, the Director of Foreign Assistance (DFA) will have authority over most State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programs, although major foreign aid programs, such as the Millennium Challenge Account, the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator, and the Office for Reconstruction and Stabilization will remain outside of his scope. The DFA also is tasked with providing 'guidance' to other agencies that manage foreign aid activities. Some assistance programs are scattered throughout numerous domestic policy agencies and the Department of Defense. Details of how the restructuring will operate have just begun to be defined. A soon-to-be-released strategic framework creates five categories representing challenges to development. Operational plans would design country- specific aid programs to meet those challenges. The restructuring is part of Secretary Rice's 'transformational development' initiative, that seeks to use foreign assistance to transform recipient countries' economic development paths, and to graduate countries from a dependence on aid. While the current restructuring requires no legislative action, it raises a number of questions with regard to the management of foreign aid programs, funding levels, and future reform options. Supporters argue that it is a long overdue reform of fragmented and uncoordinated assistance programs that will focus aid on strategic objectives and make programs more accountable. Some critics contend that its piecemeal approach will not result in comprehensive reform. Others fear that it will politicize aid programs, and put the focus on short-term objectives rather than long-term development. This report will be updated.