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Invest in America Act Introduced to Cut Foreign Aid and Spending

By Juliana Thong

On February 6, 2013, Congressman Larry Bucshon of Indiana’s 8^th district introduced the Invest in America First Act, H.R. 528. This bill will prohibit foreign aid from being given to countries with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over $1.5 trillion. An exception in the bill states that the Act will not apply to military assistance, security assistance, or humanitarian assistance. Humanitarian assistance is defined as means assistance for the relief and rehabilitation of victims of natural and manmade disasters, provided on terms and conditions determined by the President. This, however, does not include direct financial assistance.

The Invest in America First Act has been referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and has two cosponsors: Representative Lou Barletta (R-PA) and Representative Michael C. Burgess (R-TX). An Invest in America First Act, H.R. 3488, was previously introduced in December 2011 but not passed.

On Congressman Bucshon’s website, he states, “Our nation’s debt has surpassed the $16 trillion mark and we now borrow 42 cents on every dollar we spend… The United States currently provides billions of dollars in foreign aid while we struggle to find the financial resources to live up to the commitments made to our own citizens.” He goes on to say that, “It simply does not make sense for the United States to continue providing foreign aid to nations with large GDPs that often run budget surpluses and hold billions of our U.S. Treasury securities. We are giving them money, only to then borrow it back with interest.”

If the Invest in America First Act is passed, it would prohibit Congress and the President from giving nonmilitary foreign aid to countries that have a GDP over $1.5 trillion. There are exemptions for humanitarian and security aid, but aid is limited to the form of supplies and materials, not just a lump sum of money. Security aid could be given to countries for security threats that are deemed dangerous to our national security. An example Congressman Bucshon gives is in Fiscal Year 2010, the U.S. gave China $27.2 million in foreign aid, though they hold over $1.1 trillion in U.S. Treasury securities. The countries that would lose foreign aid are China, Russia, Brazil, and Mexico. All four also hold U.S. Treasury securities.

Presidential Memorandum to Strengthen Our Work to Advance Gender Equality Globally

By Juliana Thong

Many steps have been taken during the Obama administration to elevate the issues of global gender equality. Perhaps the most critical thus far occurred on January 30, 2013, when President Obama signed a presidential memorandum focusing on these issues. This is important to Global Washington and our member organizations, as it displays our government’s commitment to global development.

The memorandum focuses to better promote gender equality and to empower women and girls globally. It accomplishes this by strengthening and expanding U.S. government capacity and coordination across all its agencies. President Obama’s strategy is to go forward with a collective impact method to translate commitment to results by making gender equality a priority across the federal government. First, the memorandum acknowledges the need for dedicated professionals with expertise and stature to lead efforts and maintain accountability. It directs the Secretary of State (Secretary) to designate an Ambassador at Large to report to the Secretary and lead the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues. The mission of this Ambassador is to advise on issues related to advancing the status of women and girls and to coordinate with other countries, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations.

The memorandum maintains the power of the Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to advise the USAID Administrator on key priorities for U.S. development assistance. In addition, it establishes an interagency working group on international gender issues, chaired by the National Security Advisor. This working group will provide strategic guidance, promote government-wide coordination, and spur new action across agencies from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to the Peace Corps to the Department of Health and Human Services.

In effect, President Obama is institutionalizing the efforts made during the last four years by executive departments and agencies to issue policy and operational guidance on gender equality. For example, former Secretary Clinton—with the assistance of our first-ever Ambassador at Large for Global Women’s issues, Melanne Verveer—has worked hard to launch the issue of gender equality in our diplomacy and ensure this progress for generations to come. President Obama and newly appointed Secretary of State John Kerry have both given their commitment to these issues by assuring a future and centralized theme of global equality and development. Kerry has said, “…at my confirmation hearing, I spoke with Sen. Boxer about the importance of maintaining the momentum Secretary Clinton and Ambassador Melanne Verveer have built through their innovative office and laser-like focus.”

President Obama knows that promoting gender equality and empowering women and girls around the world is “one of the greatest unmet challenges of our time, and one that is vital to achieving our overall foreign policy objectives.” As we know, empowering women and girls promotes economic growth, improves health, and decreases corruption in communities and nations. This is not only a matter of international morality and citizenship but also national security.

Global Washington and our member organizations are pleased to see the U.S. government affirm the critical linkages between gender equality and broader development goals. This gives our country more power and focus as a force for global development, in the state of Washington.

Kerry’s Confirmation Hearing: “Foreign Policy is Economic Policy”

By Anna Jensen-Clem

Senator John Kerry spoke of a broad-based US foreign policy in his Senate confirmation hearings on Wednesday. In his opening remarks, Kerry, a 28-year veteran of the Senate and longtime chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, advocated for a continued policy of economic development and humanitarian aid, often in place of military intervention. He indicated that he would continue Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s policies and expand the State Department’s role in climate change, energy policy, and economic policies both domestically and abroad:

“American foreign policy is also defined by food security and energy security, humanitarian assistance, the fight against disease and the push for development, as much as it is by any single counterterrorism initiative. It is defined by leadership on life-threatening issues like climate change, or fighting to lift up millions of lives by promoting freedom and democracy from Africa to the Americas or speaking out for the prisoners of gulags in North Korea or millions of refugees and displaced persons and victims of human trafficking. It is defined by keeping faith with all that our troops have sacrificed to secure for Afghanistan. America lives up to her values when we give voice to the voiceless.”

Senator Kerry’s confirmation hearing was relatively painless, and he is expected to succeed Secretary Clinton after she steps down next month. His ascension from chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to Secretary of State would be the first since 1897, the New York Times noted this morning.

Update: Kerry was confirmed in a 94-3 Senate vote on Tuesday, January 29th.