The HELP Commission

Beyond AssistanceHighlights of the report of the HELP Commission to the President,

Congress, and Secretary of State on foreign assistance reform.

Tom Briggs, Executive Director, HELP CommissionJanuary 9, 2008

International Consortium on Governmental Financial Management

The HELP Commission

Membership• 15 appointed by leadership of the 2005-6 Congress• 6 appointed by the President in 2005• 1 ex-officio, the Administrator of USAID, represented by Alonzo Fulgham

Term and Funding• Two years to complete work – December 7, 2007 deadline• $4 million appropriation

Sponsorship• Congressman Frank Wolf (R-Va)

Staff• 4 full-time professionals• 10 part-time professionals• 2 administrative• 2-4 interns

Commission Details

The HELP Commission

• 18 meetings from February 2006 through October 2007

• 70 academics, practitioners, analysts, and government officials provided verbal and written input at meetings

• Additional meetings with current and former secretaries of state, USAID Administrators, NSC staff, Members of

Congress, Congressional staff, Gates Foundation in Seattle, and others

• Travel to 18 countries to observe aid on the ground

• Scenario planning workshop

Operations

The HELP Commission

Commission’s Vision

In furtherance of U.S. national security and foreign policygoals and objectives, the HELP Commission’s vision is ofa world without extreme poverty where people live in peaceand realize human dignity, liberty, justice and economicopportunity.

The HELP Commission

• Dr. Paul Collier, The Bottom Billion

• Seriousness of purpose implies use of all available policy instruments:– Foreign aid– Security– Trade– Governance

“Beyond Assistance”?

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Findings

• The world has changed and U.S. assistance programs have not kept pace.

• Foreign assistance alone is insufficient to help developing countries achieve long-term, sustainable economic growth.

• Long-term economic growth and job creation contribute the most to sustainable development.

• We need a clear and common vision for development across and throughout both branches of the United States Government.

• An integrated approach to our government’s development assistance is needed.

• We must play to our strengths and work with others.

The HELP Commission

Recommendations

• Rewrite the Foreign Assistance Act.• Do more to help developing countries build vibrant

private sectors.• Create a new business model and engage new non-

governmental partners.• Align America’s trade and development policies.• Strengthen the management capacity of our

nation’s assistance agencies.• Reorganize all U.S. international affairs functions • Determine funding from the bottom up, based on

the needs and commitment of developing countries and on the national and security interests of the United States.

The HELP Commission

Additional Recommendations

• New relationship between the executive and legislative branches of government

• $500 million Humanitarian Crisis Response Fund

• $500 million Foreign Crisis Fund

• Simplify the appropriation account structure to improve accountability and authority

• Clarify DoD’s role in development assistance

• Use public diplomacy and branding more effectively

• Emphasize infrastructure and agriculture

The HELP Commission

• Boldest – duty-free, quota-free access to U.S. market

for world’s poorest countries• Insightful – Grand Bargain to reform the

Executive-Legislative relationship• Wonkiest – four-way tie

– HR– Procurement– Unified policy, budget and evaluation system– Abolish the OE account

• Difficult – two-way tie– Structure– Funding

Headlines

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Funding

All commissioners would agree with the statement: “Foreign assistance resources should be increased

when and if the reforms recommended in the report are implemented and proven successful.”

All but two would agree with the statement:“Foreign assistance resources should be increased if the

reforms recommended in the report are implemented.”

Most would agree that foreign assistance resources should be increased.

The key message is to spend enough to accomplish America’s development and humanitarian goals.

The HELP Commission

Commission’s Objectives for Structure

• Elevate development relative to defense and diplomacy

• Vest responsibility in a single organization

• Single USG voice

• Consolidate policy formulation, program design, implementation, operations in one organization

• Provide access to all the tools necessary for development

• Improve accountability to the Congress

• Enable strong partnerships with private sector and NGOs

• Root policies and programs in reality

The HELP Commission

Five Common Structural Objectives

• Reduce the number of agencies responsible for development

• Rewrite the Foreign Assistance Act

• Improve interagency coordination

• Link authority and responsibility

• Create a new structure for foreign assistance activities

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Three Alternatives

1. Majority View: International Affairs Department

2. Four members: Department of International Development

3. Minority View: State Integration

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International Affairs Department:The “Smart Power” Department

• Create a “super-department” to bring together all of the skill sets and resources needed to successfully execute a “smart power” strategy.– All non-defense foreign policy and operations—the 150 Account

• Recognizing that different organizational cultures and skill sets needed for a successful “smart power” strategy in U.S. foreign affairs, distinct “disciplines” or “forces” will be created, and then coordinated through an unified structure directed by the Office of the Secretary.– The sub-cabinet departments will organize, train & equip– The regional and country groups will carry out operations

• Ambassadors will be the “commanders” of this unified structure, and will be drawn from each of the sub-cabinet departments and assigned to the regional groups by the Office of the Secretary.

• There is an existing organization structure like this—the Dept. of Defense. We can use the lessons learned from DoD to build the “International Affairs Department”.

• National Security Act of 1947• National Security Act Amendment of 1949• Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1985

– We are only learning from the organizational structure. We ARE NOT turning development and foreign affairs into the military or DoD!

– This new Department of International Affairs IS NOT the Department of State, although it subsumes its functions, along with those of USAID, MCC, and most other organizations funded exclusively by the 150 Account.

The HELP Commission

International Affairs Department

Office of the Secretary

Department of Political and Security Affairs

Latin America

Department of Economic Affairs, Development, And Trade

Europe and Eurasia

Department of Humanitarian Services and Stabilization

Middle East and Central Asia

Department of Public Diplomacy andConsular Affairs

India, East, and Southeast Asia

Africa

Secretary of StateKey

Plan, Program, & BudgetSub-Cabinet Dept. (Train & Equip)Regional Operations Groups

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Department for International Development

• Cabinet-level department• Elevate development and ensure

complementary relationship with diplomacy and defense• Would include MCC, PEPFAR, humanitarian,

and development activities• Regional and functional bureaus• ESF and IMET would remain at State, with a

requirement for joint programming with DID• Coordinating function in the White House,

probably as a joint function of the NSC and NEC

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State Integration

• Rationale– Emphasizes post-9/11 threats– Will facilitate links to new actors in development– Builds on existing State Department activities

• Organization– Headed by Deputy Secretary of State– Under Secretaries would head functional areas such

as Economic Development and Trade; Disaster Relief, Refugees, Migration and Humanitarian Assistance; and Political Affairs, Democracy Support, and Public Diplomacy

– Subsume MCC, TDA, and the regional development banks. Peace Corps, OPIC, and Ex-IM could stay independent.

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Recommendations for Policy Wonks

• Human resources

• Procurement and contracting

• Unified policy, budget, and evaluation system

• Abolish the OE account

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The Grand Bargain

• Re-engage the authorizers. The FAA has not been re-authorized since 1985 and has not had a comprehensive re-write since enactment in 1961. Recent authorizations have all been in appropriations’ bills.

• Adopt common procedures for accounts, agencies, and bodies of the Congress itself

• Consolidate the 39 foreign assistance accounts• Make the Congressional Budget Justification process

meaningful– Consider a consolidated 050/150 budget– Provide joint guidance from the NSC and OMB to agencies– Align the priorities of the Executive and Legislative using

the budget process• Technical improvements (single point of contact, unified

accounting systems, M&E)

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Duty-free, quota-free Access

• The United States should offer duty-free, quota-free access to its market for:– MCC-eligible countries; and– Countries with 2006 nominal GDP per capita less

than $2,000.• The reason is that to do good, we must first stop

doing harm.– We collected $20 million more in duties from MCC

eligible countries in 2006 than we provided in the 2007 MCC appropriation.

– We, and the EU, impose the highest tariff rates on the poorest countries.

– And, please see the numbers on the following slide:

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Trade

Selected countries that paid the U.S. more in duties than they received from the U.S. in aid in 2006

2006Tariffs000 $

Aid000 $

Aid Minus Duties000 $

Per Capita Income

Bangladesh $487,240 $80,978 -$406,262 $451

Cambodia $366,496 $60,055 -$306,441 $503

Nicaragua $105,366 $52,415 -$52,951 $908

Mongolia $19,602 $13,615 -$5,987 $1,081

Philippines $403,510 $127,066 -$276,444 $1,345

Sri Lanka $276,644 $22,647 -$253,997 $1,355

Indonesia $799,259 $150,907 -$648,352 $1,640

Source: The Trade Partnership (Washington, DC) from U.S. Census data.

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Special Recommendations

• Enhance job creation and poverty reduction through SME technical assistance and finance

• Development Applications Research Institute

• More local purchase of food aid• Support agriculture, including value chain

development• Build human capital through education

The HELP Commission

The HELP Commission

• Remember role – not the Congress, not the Executive

• Deal with conflict early in process• Limit size of Commission• Stand the pyramid on its base (funding and

staff)• Provide sufficient time• Ensure enlightened leadership• Don’t waste time fighting the standard

governmental processes