Risch, Rubio Introduce Legislation to Increase Oversight of Foreign Aid
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) today introduced the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Enhancement Act, legislation to promote more effective oversight of U.S. foreign assistance.
“The United States is the most generous contributor of foreign assistance in the world. As such, it’s critical we conduct rigorous oversight over where our dollars are going,” said Risch. “Knowing who our implementing partners are is key to ensuring transparency and accountability. This legislation will require U.S. foreign assistance agencies to provide more public data so we can ensure every dollar is being used properly and effectively.”
“American taxpayers have a right to see where their dollars and goodwill are being used overseas. As the Biden Administration attempts to use foreign assistance to push a woke ideology on other countries, increased transparency in these programs is needed,” said Rubio.
Background:
In 2016, Congress enacted the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act (FATAA) which required federal departments and agencies to more effectively monitor and evaluate foreign aid programs, apply learning, and make related foreign aid data publicly available. Both the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development post aid data to a unified “foreign aid dashboard.”
Currently, the dashboard identifies the agencies, amounts, and sectors for which aid is being provided, but it does not reliably disclose who is actually implementing that assistance on the ground. The Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Enhancement Act will amend the FATAA to require U.S. foreign assistance agencies to include the following data on the dashboard: country or region, as appropriate; funding agency; managing agency; sector; total award amount; appropriations account; fiscal year or fiscal years; and implementing partners, including prime and subawards.
Text of the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Enhancement Act can be found here
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