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On Tuesday evening the House of Representatives unanimously passed the bipartisan Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act, sponsored by Representatives Judge Ted Poe (R-TX) and Gerry Connolly (D-VA). Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) sponsored the bill in the Senate, which passed last week. The legislation is now headed to the President’s desk for signature.  

“Foreign assistance is a critical and necessary tool for protecting and proliferating democratic values. We need to expand, not disinvest, in our global leadership,” said Rep. Connolly. “This bill will bring needed transparency to an often misunderstood part of the federal budget, which will in turn allow us to continue to grow our investment in stability and prosperity abroad.”

It is time to modernize and reform our outdated foreign aid system. For the first time in over 50 years, a bill requiring our foreign aid to be rigorously evaluated is heading to the President’s desk,” said Rep. Poe. “Under the current system, billions of taxpayer dollars are sent to a majority of the countries in the world, but no one really knows how far those dollars go. Once the President signs this bill into law the American people will finally have the ability to see not only where their money is sent but also how efficient and effective that aid is.”

The “Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act” will require the President to establish guidelines on measurable goals, performance metrics, and monitoring and evaluation plans for foreign aid programs. It also would increase aid transparency by codifying what is currently being done through the Foreign Assistance Dashboard and increasing the amount of information required to be posted online, including actual expenditures and evaluations.

“At a time when competing government priorities face the chopping block, advocates of effective foreign aid have a responsibility to make the case that aid directly serves our country’s long-term national-security and economic interests, and in a cost-effective way,” Connolly added.

“U.S. foreign assistance budgets and programs should be transparent and based on rigorous evidence and learning to ensure the effectiveness of every dollar spent. H.R. 3766 would both establish evaluation guidelines for U.S. international development and economic assistance programs and centralize public access to data and reports through the existing ForeignAssistance.gov aid transparency website,” said the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network in a statement of support.