Overhauling USAID

Lael Brainard of the Brookings Institution recently published a report critiquing the current direction of the U.S. Agency for International Development.  In it she highlights the problems of swiftly renovating an institution so deeply connected with Congress and the American people.  Brainard underscores how the recent transformation of USAID under the Ambassador Randall Tobias remains controversial.  Focusing primarily on strengthening political alliances rather than alleviating poverty, Tobias’s integration of diplomacy and development has produced many skeptics inside the beltway. Therefore, overhauling the system is a challenge that the Bush administration’s nominee Henrietta Fore must tackle, ensuring to create a streamlined yet comprehensive plan for AID’s future.  The study also emphasizes a need to reenergize development efforts through a doctrine of smart power.  Similar to CSIS’s own Commission on Smart Power, USAID needs to focus on advancing U.S. security by disseminating U.S. values.  By following these principles, sustainable and positive growth is attainable.  As Brainard concludes, “Foreign assistance reform is simply too important to leave to a little non-permanent bureau in the State Department.”