Mr. Chairman, we are very fortunate to have Andrew Natsios as the new Administrator of the Agency for International Development, and it is fitting that he is the first witness to testify before this Subcommittee in this session of Congress. I remember Mr. Natsios' tenure as the head of AID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, where he did a fine job responding to the most urgent humanitarian disasters. As head of World Vision, he developed strong ties with the NGO community which we increasingly count on to implement foreign aid programs. AID needs a new kind of leadership. It needs someone who knows the trenches, who recognizes that AID's staff are by far its greatest asset and who trusts their judgment.
AID has many very talented staff who make life better for millions of people.
AID also needs a leader who doesn't tolerate incompetence, mediocrity or staff telling him what they think he wants to hear, rather than the facts. There have been too many programs that failed by any objective standard, and yet the money kept flowing. Just as AID should take risks, it also needs to recognize when the conditions are not right, and to stop throwing good money after bad. Mr. Natsios can provide that leadership. He knows from past experience that AID has been in dire need of reform for years.