Washington Report, 2009-01

Abstract

During his two terms in office, President Bush sought to overhaul the U.S. system for delivering foreign assistance to support post-9/11 national security and foreign policy goals. Some of the former administration’s aid initiatives are highly regarded. But the consensus of a plethora of articles, books, studies, and congressional hearings is that the U.S. foreign aid effort remains badly in need of change. Key U.S. lawmakers say that foreign aid reform will be high on their agenda for 2009. Hon. Jim Kolbe, Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, offers his views about problems in the U.S. foreign aid system, proposed solutions, and related developments in Asia. Congressman Kolbe served for 20 years on the House Appropriations Committee and chaired the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the U.S. foreign aid budget for four of those years.