June 21, 2017 (WASHINGTON) – This statement is delivered on behalf of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) by Co-Chairs George Ingram, Tessie San Martin, and Connie Veillette.
Last week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing to consider the nomination of Ambassador Mark Green to serve as the next Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In light of Amb. Green’s testimony, development expertise, and bipartisan support, the Senate should act quickly to confirm Green.
Ambassador Green highlighted the importance of U.S. aid effectiveness in his written testimony, including an emphasis on accountability and country ownership. Green pledged to “focus on what was working” through monitoring and evaluation and partnership with Congress. Additionally, he highlighted the importance of using U.S. assistance to help increase countries’ capacity to raise domestic revenues for development.
A permanent USAID Administrator is critical to ensuring a strong development voice in U.S. foreign policy as well as the ongoing reorganization assessment and Fiscal Year 2018 budget negotiations. Due to his decades of experience in development and diplomacy, MFAN believes Amb. Green is uniquely qualified to lead a strong and modernized USAID.
MFAN commends the Committee for their continued leadership on foreign assistance and focus on bipartisanship and effectiveness. This commitment was demonstrated during Amb. Green’s hearing as many Senators asked insightful questions about the development challenges our country faces and the need to maximize the effectiveness of our lead development agency and its programs and procedures. MFAN therefore urges the Senate to swiftly confirm Amb. Green as the next USAID Administrator.
“Mark Green is an excellent choice from the Trump Administration to lead USAID,” said Tessie San Martin, MFAN Co-Chair and President and CEO of Plan International USA. “Mark clearly understands the value of engaging with local stakeholders to drive their own development, giving a ‘hand up’ not a ‘hand out’.”
“It is critical that the Senate confirm Mark Green in order to properly insert and elevate the development voice in U.S. foreign policy discussions,” said Connie Veillette, MFAN Co-Chair and Senior Fellow at The Lugar Center. “With the proposed FY18 budget cuts and reorganization process, USAID’s seat at the policy-making table is as important now as ever.”
“We urge the Senate to confirm Mark Green,” said George Ingram, MFAN Co-Chair and Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institution. “In Mark, Congress will have a true partner in the effort to make U.S. foreign assistance more effective and efficient.”
