"Rebuilding USAID is critical to effective delivery of US foreign assistance to fight poverty—which is recognized as key to America's strategic and security interests. We are working hard to build momentum to get reform passed this year." said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America.

"Over the last two decades, USAID has had its legs cut out from under it—its resources and staff have been slashed while more development capacity has been shifted to the Department of Defense. Along with rebuilding USAID, the US must shift its focus from development projects that meet short-term political and security goals back to long term development goals that not only help more people escape poverty, but in the long run, create greater stability and good will for the US. Rebuilding USAID gives the US and its development policy a start down the right path."

Currently, USAID has little capacity to strategize and create comprehensive development plans for the countries in which it operates says Oxfam. The bill addresses this issue by establishing USAID mission directors as responsible for coordinating all development and humanitarian assistance efforts in the field, under guidance of the Chief of Mission.

"This bill is a welcome move by Senator Kerry to help reinvigorate US foreign assistance," said Offenheiser. "Kerry is creating a scenario that will allow USAID development professionals to do what they do best—work closely with local communities and governments to deliver long-term programs that help to alleviate poverty and build prosperous communities."

"Transparency is also key to getting the most out of US development aid. Without good information, recipient governments can't plan, poor people can't hold their governments accountable, and the US taxpayers can't see results. Development professionals, aid recipients and US taxpayers need to see exactly where money is going and what the expectations are, so that there is greater accountability and success. Success means more positive change in the lives of poor people."

Key themes addressed by the new legislation include rebuilding USAID's capacity to think and implement strategically; giving the agency new tools to measure, evaluate and innovate to achieve smart development; promoting transparency and flexibility; and investing in human capital.

The aid reform debate in Washington has gained momentum in the last few months. Secretary of State Clinton recently announced that the State Department and USAID will be undertaking America's first-ever Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR), in order to streamline the aid system and to put development on par with national security and diplomacy in foreign policy debates and decisions. In Congress, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) has introduced the Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009 (HR 2139), which has more than 90 bipartisan co-sponsors.

In a panel co-hosted by Oxfam America and Foreign Policy, journalist Andrew Mwenda of Uganda, Reconstruction Minister O. Natty B. Davis, II of Liberia, and environmental activist Wore Gana Seck of Senegal urged U.S. leaders to make U.S. foreign assistance more supportive of effective states and active citizens. In particular, the panelists called for a U.S. aid approach that is more transparent, more consistent with the needs of citizens and local governments, and more focused on giving recipient states the power to manage their own development.

"Getting to better development assistance will require that donors such as the U.S. keep a close eye on the critical task of building government capacity and institutions directly," said O. Natty B. Davis, II, Reconstruction Minister of Liberia. "This will ensure the efficacy of aid and its ability to deliver results that can have a real impact on the lives of the people in these countries in as short a time as possible."

The panel reflected growing momentum in the foreign aid reform debate in the U.S. Before leaving for Ghana, President Obama was quoted in an AllAfrica.com interview saying, "Our aid policies have been splintered among a variety of agencies... Trying to create something steady [and] basing our policies on what works and not on some ideological previous position—is going to be very important."

Last Friday, Secretary of State Clinton announced that the State Department and USAID will be undertaking America's first-ever Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR), in order to streamline the aid bureaucracy and insert development more coherently into debates over national security and foreign policy. In Congress, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) has introduced the Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009 (H.R. 2139), which has more than 75 bipartisan co-sponsors.

"It is a good sign that the administration and congress are talking about development in a strategic way," said Paul O'Brien, Director of Aid Effectiveness at Oxfam America and one of today's panelists. "But if new strategies are going to deliver for the world's poor, they must be poverty focused. Effective development isn't about fixing short-term political or security problems—it is about putting people in charge of their own lives. The best signal the U.S. can send to show it is serious about development is to nominate a USAID Administrator who will help rebuild the agency and bring back its capacity to be a true partner in development."

"This bill is yet another important step in Chairman Berman's effort to fundamentally reform the way the US fights global poverty," said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America. "Much important work still remains to be done to reform US policies and programs for global development. However, this bill moves us forward along the path to. reform."

H.R. 2410 would expand the number of Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) at both the Department of State and USAID, providing the US government with increased human capital to meet global challenges. The bill specifically includes authority for the Secretary of State to hire 1,500 FSOs and for the Administrator of USAID to hire 700 new FSOs over the next two years. Additionally, the bill includes authorities to make it easier to attract and retain personnel with the specialized skills required for supporting long-term poverty fighting efforts.

Oxfam America is also very pleased that the investment to modernize the Foreign Service includes a focus on using diplomacy to actively prevent, mitigate, and respond to international crises in a timely manner.

"An additional 1,500 State Department recruits, equipped with adequate training and a focused mandate, could go a long way in improving US diplomacy to address humanitarian crises," said Offenheiser.

To this end, the bill also requires the US government to outline a specific plan for the development of a government-wide strategy and the strengthening of United States civilian capacities for preventing genocide and mass atrocities.

"For too long the United States has responded to situations of mass atrocities in ad hoc and uncoordinated ways. Unless the US civilian agencies plan for contingencies and build capacity, our moral outrage will never be translated into effective action," said Offenheiser.

Oxfam America welcomes Chairman Berman's efforts, and calls upon Members of Congress to actively support broader reform to rebuild America's efforts to effectively combat global poverty and put poor people and governments in charge of their own development.

In April, Chairman Berman and Representative Mark Kirk (R-IL) introduced H.R. 2139, the Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009. H.R. 2139 focuses on three critical areas of foreign assistance reform: creating a US national strategy for global development, refocusing its monitoring and evaluation approach, and increasing transparency on where assistance dollars are going. Oxfam America supports H.R. 2139, and hopes to see the United States design and implement a National Strategy for Global Development.

"Congressman Berman has long sought to make reform of US government global development programs a priority," said Raymond C. Offenheiser, President of Oxfam America. "Reform is necessary to restore America's leadership in fighting global poverty. Both he and Congressman Kirk should be applauded for identifying reform as one of America's top foreign policy challenges."

"With the right reforms, the US foreign assistance system can help poor people get the tools they need to lead their own development, spur economic growth and create a more prosperous world for everyone. This bill is an important first step to making sure the United States has the right tools to fight global poverty."

The bill, the Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009, focuses on three critical areas of foreign assistance reform: creating a US national strategy for global development, refocusing its monitoring and evaluation approach, and increasing transparency on where assistance dollars are going.

"Creating a national strategy for global development will help coordinate our disjointed US foreign assistance system, establish poverty reduction as its primary goal and provide developing countries and their citizens more ownership over their own development agenda," said Offenheiser. "By taking the time to listen to the poor people and countries we are trying to help, and by giving them more control over their own futures, US foreign assistance is more likely to make a long-lasting impact."

Tracking funding and ensuring assistance dollars are getting to people in need is one the biggest challenges facing US foreign assistance programs said Oxfam. There has been little chance to date that developing countries could get critical information needed to plan effectively for their own development projects. The portions of the bill focused on transparency promise US taxpayers and developing countries long-awaited clarity on how foreign assistance dollars are being distributed.

"Greater transparency in US foreign assistance programs is an important step to creating true partnerships with developing countries and their citizens," said Offenheiser. "When developing countries get access to information they need to effectively plan their own futures, they are empowered to work alongside the US as equal partners."

The monitoring and evaluation portion of the bill is a promising effort to change an antiquated model of gauging success. For too long, the US has focused on counting things like how many individuals went through a one-off agricultural training workshop rather than how much more food was produced locally to meet the needs of a community.

"Washington needs to stop bean-counting when it comes to judging the success of US foreign assistance. We need to be looking at how many more girls are getting an education because of US foreign assistance, and how their lives are improved, not just how many pencils are sharpened or textbooks are bought."

"President Obama has already expressed a commitment to making our foreign assistance dollars as effective as possible. Chairman Berman's 'down payment' on foreign assistance reform helps us get there," said Offenheiser.

Oxfam says G-20 leaders could make a critical difference to the world's poorest people by diverting a tiny fraction of the bailout money to provide an economic stimulus, social safety nets and health services for those affected by the economic crisis.

Oxfam is calling for a $580 billion-a-year rescue package for poor countries made up of an immediate fiscal stimulus for the poorest countries of at least $24 billion, debt relief and fulfillment of existing pledges to increase development aid.

Urgent action is also needed to crackdown on tax havens, which deprive developing countries of hundreds of millions of dollars of tax revenue every year—much more than they receive in development aid.

"When you look at the amount of money that has been found for banks it seems inconceivable that G-20 leaders will stand aside and allow the economic crisis to destroy poor people' lives," said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America.

"Developing countries are reeling from dramatic declines in trade, remittances and foreign investment. Rich governments whose policies contributed to the crisis have a responsibility to help those who cannot afford their own bailouts.

"Without urgent action, hundreds of millions of the world's poorest people will fall further into poverty. Losing your job is devastating wherever it happens but for millions people in poor countries, without benefits and health services to fall back on, unemployment will push them into destitution."

An Oxfam report, published earlier this week, revealed women are hit hardest and are often the first to lose their jobs as countries slide into recession. For many, in developing countries the recession comes on top of high fuel and food prices that have already stretched communities to breaking point.

Oxfam is pressing for rich country governments to promote a 'green new deal' by ensuring their domestic rescue packages help tackle climate change by accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Oxfam is also calling for reform of international financial institutions, including the IMF and World Bank, to give developing countries a real say in the decisions that affect them.

"We cannot return to the situation where the greed of the richest was allowed to take precedence over the needs of millions," said Offenheiser. "G-20 leaders have a real opportunity to take a significant step towards a fairer, more sustainable world."