USAID in the 21st Century: What Do We Need for the Tasks at Hand? Testimony for the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on International Development, Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs, and International Environmental Protection

Senior fellow Steve Radelet testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on International Development, Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs, and International Environmental Protection.

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From Radelet's testimony:

Today we find ourselves at a critical juncture. The challenges our country faces at home and abroad are serious and emblematic of a new era. An era where the world’s challenges—disease, human and food insecurity, climate change, financial crises—do not respect borders and are truly global problems requiring global solutions. Trade, remittances, and private investment tie rich and poor countries together, creating shared opportunities for prosperity in plentiful times, but also shared instability and strain in times of financial crisis. Outdated and inefficient policies, instruments, and organizational structures must be brought into the 21st century. The new Obama administration is confronting a perfect storm of domestic economic concerns at home and multiple challenges overseas: continued wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, escalating instability in Pakistan, emerging sanctuaries for terrorism and piracy in unstable regions of Africa, and, in the wake of the global economic downturn, deepened poverty and threats of heightened political instability in countries across the world.