August 03, 2009
Sen. Richard Lugar argued in a guest CGD blog posting last week that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) needs an extreme makeover. Two days later, he and Sens. Kerry, Menendez, Corker, Risch, and Cardin—three Democrats and three Republicans—introduced the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act of 2009 to put a strengthened USAID front and center on development policy. In a joint posting, CGD’s Sheila Herrling and Sarah Jane Staats analyze the bill and the growing momentum for reforming U.S. foreign assistance.