New White House Strategy Elevates Development as Pillar of Foreign Policy

WASHINGTON, May 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A draft copy of the Presidential Study Directive on Global Development, leaked yesterday to the media, highlights the Obama administration's goal to make U.S. foreign assistance more effective and accountable.

"We like what we have seen so far and we look forward to a final document that makes poverty reduction a key component of a national global development strategy that provides a coordinated, accountable business model to effectively engage in development policy," said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World and co-chair of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network.

The document, "A New Way Forward on Global Development," outlines a fresh vision for U.S. foreign aid. The administration's new approach is built on three pillars: a deliberate development policy that places a premium on broad-based economic growth and democratic governance; a business approach that positions the United States to be a more effective partner and leverages its leadership; and a coordinated model that promotes policy coherence and elevates development as a key pillar of U.S. foreign policy.

The seven-page document also outlines a plan that would establish an interagency "development policy committee," which would move the responsibility for coordinating U.S. policy on development out of the State Department.

Although the document is not final, other sources indicate that it is "pretty close to final." "We hope this vision from the White House will reestablish the United States as the leader in international development," said Rev. Beckmann.

Bread for the World is a collective Christian voice urging our nation's decision makers

to end hunger at home and abroad.

SOURCE Bread for the World