May 6, 2022 (WASHINGTON) – This statement is delivered on behalf of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) by Co-Chairs Lester Munson, Larry Nowels, and Tessie San Martin.
The Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network, an early supporter of the creation of the Development Finance Corporation (DFC), urges Congress to reject the proposal to waive the Corporation’s development mandate for five years. The waiver has been requested as a part of the Administration’s emergency funding bill for additional support to Ukraine.
While MFAN supports the ability of the DFC to assist Ukraine in any rebuilding efforts, it notes that the Corporation already has the authority to operate in Ukraine and that it is also able to operate across Eastern Europe for investment in energy projects.
MFAN has been outspoken about previous attempts to erode the development mandate Congress provided when it established the DFC in 2018 (BUILD Act), including last July during the drafting of H.R. 3524, the Ensuring American Leadership and Global Engagement Act (EAGLE Act). In the MFAN Co-Chairs Statement about an amendment to the EAGLE Act, we noted the importance of retaining “the agency’s focus on lower and lower-middle income countries which stand to gain the greatest economically with U.S. investment.”
We continue to caution against any backsliding of the DFC’s development mandate as Congress works to provide urgently needed funding to support the countless needs of the people of Ukraine.
