The Foreign Service Journal, January 2010

J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 25 some cases conflict with one another.” Speaking to the House Appropriations Committee last February, acting USAID Administrator James Kunder was unusually blunt in criticizing congressional leader- ship. “I’m not here to insult the committee,” he said. But “at the end of the day, the very bright officers we send off to carry out our nation’s foreign policy are torn in 100 dif- ferent directions” because of congressional microman- agement. But this year, some in Congress are hoping to change that impression. Both John Kerry, the Massachusetts De- mocrat who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Commit- tee, and California Democrat Howard Berman, his counterpart atop the House Foreign Affairs Committee, have pledged to do what none of their counterparts have since 1985: reauthorize the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act. Kerry has made it clear he would prefer USAID to be more independent of State Department control. Toward that end, his bill, which was approved by his committee in November, would return to USAID the policy and plan- ning functions that migrated to State in 2006. It would also designate the USAID mission director in each country as responsible for coordinating all development and humani- tarian assistance. Furthermore, the agency would manage an independent research armwith responsibility for evalu- ating the quality of its projects. Berman’s bill would give the administration more dis- cretion to develop a broader, governmentwide foreign as- sistance strategy than Kerry’s approach. It is also less specific about whether the administration should integrate State and USAID, and how it might do so. But, like Kerry, Berman is deeply skeptical of the military takeover of for- eign assistance and eager to restore USAID’s relevancy. “DOD’s role erases the distinction betweenmilitary per- sonnel and civilians carrying out similar development ac- tivities; ignores best practices, such as sustainability and effectiveness; and puts a military face on inherently civilian programs,” Berman says. “Shouldn’t our peacetime en- gagement efforts be carried out by USAID, our nation’s premier development agency?” ■ C O V E R S T O R Y AFSA Resource Marketplace Find the Most-Requested Resources from the Overseas Briefing Center Online at www.afsa.org/ads 1. FSI’s Transition Center 2. U.S. Department of State Overseas Briefing Center (OBC) 3. Security Overseas Seminars: PSOS, ASOS, SAA, SOS, SOS 4. Transition Center Training home page for eligible family members and members of household (MOH) 5. International Jobs - Working Overseas 6. Country Information (Bidding Resources) 7. Transition Center Courses 8. Preparing to Go Overseas 9. Pets and International Travel 10. Foreign Service Assignment Notebook: What Do I Do Now? 11. U.S. Department of State Career Transition Center (CTC) 12. Personal Post Insights 13. Elementary School Stuff 14. Arrange Medical Clearance and Immunizations 15. High Stress Assignment Outbrief Program