IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1268 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that United States 

foreign assistance is a critical instrument for achieving our national 

security goals and that modernizing United States foreign assistance 

should become a national priority. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 11, 2008 

Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota (for herself, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. 

WOLF, Mr. PLATTS, Mr. FARR, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. HONDA, 

Mr. LYNCH, Mr. LAHOOD, and Mr. CARSON) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

United States foreign assistance is a critical instrument 

for achieving our national security goals and that modernizing United States foreign assistance should become 

a national priority. 

Whereas foreign assistance has been an essential component 

of United States national security strategy and a powerful demonstration of America’s national values since the 

end of World War II; 

Whereas 60 years ago, in April of 1948, Congress committed 

resources in support of the Marshall Plan, channeling 

$115,000,000,000 in economic aid and technical assistVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:50 Jun 12, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1268.IH HR1268

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ance to 16 European countries and initiating America’s 

first major international foreign assistance initiative, 

yielding one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century; 

Whereas over the last three generations, the commitment of 

the United States to humanitarian crisis interventions, 

long-term development activities, postconflict reconstruction, and military and economic support has saved millions of lives, built a bulwark against the spread of communism, and defined America’s global leadership through 

its commitment to democracy, good governance, economic 

growth, and the global fight against disease, hunger, and 

poverty; 

Whereas United States foreign assistance is an investment in 

global security, stability, and prosperity, and is a critical 

instrument of American power, prestige, and influence in 

the world, which confers tangible, long-term benefits to 

American citizens in the form of reduced national security threats, expanded economic opportunities, and the 

fulfillment of America’s moral obligations to ‘‘champion 

aspirations for human dignity’’, as stated in the 2006 

National Security Strategy; 

Whereas according to the 2007/2008 United Nations Human 

Development Report, 2,600,000,000 people, or 40 percent of the world’s population, live on less than two dollars a day, and often confront hunger, disease, and misery; 

Whereas the 9/11 Commission Report states, ‘‘In the post9/11 world, threats are defined more by the fault lines 

within societies than by the territorial boundaries between them [and] [f]rom terrorism to global disease or 


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environmental degradation, the challenges have become 

transnational rather than international’’; 

Whereas the Administration asserted in the 2006 National 

Security Strategy that ‘‘development reinforces diplomacy 

and defense, reducing long-term threats to our national 

security by helping to build stable, prosperous, and 

peaceful societies’’; 

Whereas the 2006 National Security Strategy declared, 

‘‘Helping the world’s poor is a strategic priority and a 

moral imperative’’, and the United States must ‘‘assist 

the world’s poor citizens and least developed nations and 

help integrate them into the global economy’’; 

Whereas the Commission on Weak States and United States 

National Security, a bipartisan panel of 30 former government officials, senior business leaders, academics, and 

nongovernmental organization representatives, recognized 

in 2004 that ‘‘[W]eak and failed states matter to American security, American values, and the prospects for 

global economic growth upon which the American economy depends’’; 

Whereas the Commission on Weak States and United States 

National Security also found that ‘‘the security challenge 

[weak and failed states] present cannot be met through 

security means alone, [and] the roots of this challenge— 

the long-term hope for its resolution—lie in development, 

broadly understood as progress toward stable, accountable national institutions that can meet citizens’ needs 

and take full part in the workings of the international 

community’’; 

Whereas the bipartisan Commission on Smart Power, convened by the Center for Strategic and International StudVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:50 Jun 12, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1268.IH HR1268

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ies (CSIS), concluded in 2007 that ‘‘American leaders 

ought to commit to global development because it reinforces basic American values, contributes to peace, justice, and prosperity, and improves the way we are viewed 

around the world’’; 

Whereas the Commission on Smart Power further found that 

‘‘Investing in development contributes to American security at home by promoting stability abroad’’; 

Whereas the current United States foreign assistance programs, structures, and assumptions, which were developed during the Cold War and evolved over six decades, 

are in need of modernization to effectively confront current and future foreign policy and national security challenges; 

Whereas Congress mandated the bipartisan HELP Commission, which spent nearly 2 years conducting extensive 

overseas travel to interview aid recipients and assess aid 

programs in the field and interviewing the world’s foremost experts on United States foreign assistance, including current and former Secretaries of State, leaders of 

United States Government agencies involved with foreign 

assistance, international experts, scholars, contractors, 

nongovernmental organization officials, and businesses, 

and studied previous reform efforts and reports, which 

tellingly found ‘‘not one person appeared before [the] 

Commission to defend the status quo’’; 

Whereas the bipartisan Brookings-CSIS Task Force for 

Transforming Foreign Assistance in the 21st Century 

analyzed the fragmented state of the United States foreign assistance infrastructure, noting there are ‘‘more 

than 50 separate United States Government units involved in aid delivery, [resulting in] duplication and disVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:50 Jun 12, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1268.IH HR1268

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array’’, and further cited that this ‘‘current cacophony of 

actors within the United States Government undermines 

American leadership internationally’’; 

Whereas the Brookings-CSIS Task Force called for the 

United States Government to ‘‘rationalize agencies and 

clarify [agency] missions’’; 

Whereas the Commission on Smart Power called upon the 

next President to ‘‘address three vital development issues 

in the brief window of opportunity that exists at the beginning of any new administration: elevating the development mission within the United States Government; developing a more unified approach to our aid; and developing locally-supported and measurable delivery systems’’; 

Whereas the 2006 National Security Strategy declares, ‘‘Improving the way we use foreign assistance will make it 

more effective in strengthening responsible governments, 

responding to suffering, and improving people’s lives’’; 

Whereas Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recognized the 

urgent need to modernize United States foreign assistance by introducing the ‘‘F process’’ reforms as part of 

the Department’s ‘‘transformational diplomacy’’ initiative 

in January 2006; 

Whereas Secretary of Defense Robert Gates stated on November 26, 2007, ‘‘One of the most important lessons of 

the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is that military success 

is not sufficient to win: economic development, institution-building and the rule of law, promoting internal reconciliation, good governance, providing basic services to 

people, training and equipping indigenous military and 

police forces, strategic communications, and more—these, 


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along with security, are essential ingredients for longterm success’’; 

Whereas Secretary Gates also noted the ‘‘need for a dramatic 

increase in spending on the civilian instruments of national security—diplomacy, strategic communications, 

foreign assistance, civic action, and economic reconstruction and development’’; 

Whereas the need to modernize United States foreign assistance is reinforced by the efforts of rising global powers, 

such as China, to utilize foreign aid to advance their own 

national interests in strategic areas of the world; and 

Whereas the comprehensive modernization of United States 

foreign assistance will require a renewed partnership between Congress and the executive branch to meet the 

challenges of the 21st century: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) supports the comprehensive modernization 

3 of the United States foreign assistance apparatus to 

4 effectively meet 21st century global challenges, such 

5 as terrorism, poverty, pandemic disease, climate 

6 change, energy security, failed or failing states, food 

7 insecurity, a lack of or slow economic growth, and 

8 population and migration issues; 

9 (2) affirms defense, diplomacy, and develop10 ment are the three essential components to ensure 

11 United States national security, as stated in the 

12 President’s 2002 National Security Strategy, and 

13 that each component is an essential, independent, 


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1 and mutually reinforcing element of a comprehen2 sive, effective, and long-term United States national 

3 security strategy; 

4 (3) affirms that foreign assistance in the form 

5 of long-term development activities, humanitarian 

6 crisis response, postconflict reconstruction, and eco7 nomic and military support is an indispensable in8 strument of United States power, and a key deter9 minant of our standing in the world that should be 

10 used to translate our moral beliefs and national in11 terests into practical actions by— 

12 (A) mitigating threats to national and 

13 global security; 

14 (B) supporting the efforts of citizens of 

15 any country to pursue political freedom while 

16 building capable, effective, and democratic 

17 states; and 

18 (C) reducing global poverty by increasing 

19 economic opportunity and improving quality of 

20 life; 

21 (4) affirms that a modernization of United 

22 States foreign assistance should embody the con23 sensus recommendations of the United States na24 tional security community, congressionally mandated 


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1 commissions, development experts, and independent 

2 research organizations, which include— 

3 (A) aligning foreign assistance policies, op4 erations, budgets, and statutory authorities; 

5 (B) matching sufficient resources to a 

6 clear set of objectives shared by the executive 

7 branch and Congress; 

8 (C) strengthening civilian operational capa9 bilities and expanding the cadre of skilled and 

10 trained international development professionals 

11 inside the Government; 

12 (D) reducing the number of agencies re13 sponsible for development and restructuring for14 eign assistance activities to— 

15 (i) elevate global development to a 

16 standing alongside defense and diplomacy 

17 to emphasize its importance; 

18 (ii) enable the United States to articu19 late and promote a strategic and coherent 

20 approach to global development and the 

21 utilization of our foreign assistance tools; 

22 (iii) provide Congress with the means 

23 for ensuring accountability; and 

24 (iv) facilitate strong partnerships with 

25 the many American private, faith-based, 


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1 and nongovernmental organizations that 

2 are increasingly engaged in addressing de3 velopment challenges; 

4 (E) measuring results through strength5 ened monitoring and evaluation systems and by 

6 publicly reporting the impact of our investments 

7 against their intended objectives; 

8 (F) strengthening the commitment of re9 cipient governments and other partners to poli10 cies that ensure fiscal accountability, establish 

11 monitoring and benchmarks for aid, reduce cor12 ruption, increase local capacity, respect human 

13 rights, and promote political and economic free14 dom; and 

15 (G) applying internationally recognized 

16 principles of aid effectiveness, which include— 

17 (i) the harmonization of policies and 

18 practices with other donors and leveraging 

19 investments through collaboration with 

20 other countries; 

21 (ii) the alignment with national prior22 ities of host governments in well-governed 

23 countries; 


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1 (iii) the lowering of transaction costs 

2 for both the United States and recipient 

3 governments; and 

4 (iv) policy and programmatic trans5 parency to benefit both the American pub6 lic and the intended beneficiaries; 

7 (5) supports the creation of a strategy to mod8 ernize foreign assistance in accordance with the 

9 widely recognized principles enumerated in this reso10 lution and affirms modernization should be a pri11 ority for both Congress and the Administration; and 

12 (6) calls for a renewed partnership between 

13 Congress and the Administration to define a com14 mon vision of the role and management of United 

15 States foreign assistance that provides the President 

16 with the flexibility needed to act in a quickly chang17 ing world, while ensuring input and oversight by 

18 Congress. 

Æ 


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