PUBLIC POLICY UPDATE

February 25, 2011

UPCOMING HEARINGS

Hearing: Assessing U.S. Foreign Policy Priorities & Needs amidst Economic Challenges
Committee: House Foreign Affairs Committee
Witnesses: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
When: Tuesday, March 1, 2011, 9:30 a.m.
Where: 2172 Rayburn House Office Building
Contact: 202-225-5021 http://foreignaffairs.house.gov

Hearing: Budget for the State Department

Committee: House Appropriations Committee: State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs
Subcommittee
Witnesses: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
When: Tuesday, March 1, 2011, 2:00 p.m.
Where: 2359 Rayburn House Office Building
Contact: 202-225-2771 http://appropriations.house.gov

Hearing: National Security & Foreign Policy Priorities in the FY2012 International Affairs Budget
Committee: Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Witnesses: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
When: Wednesday, March 2, 2011, 9:30 a.m.
Where: 106 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Contact: 202-224-4651 http://foreign.senate.gov

Hearing: Reforming the United Nations: Lessons Learned

Committee: House Foreign Affairs Committee
Witnesses: Mark D. Wallace, President and Chief Executive Officer, United Against Nuclear Iran
(Former United States Representative to the United Nations for Management and Reform)
When: Thursday, March 3, 2011, 10:00 a.m.
Where: 2172 Rayburn House Office Building
Contact: 202-225-5021 http://foreignaffairs.house.gov

Hearing: Oversight of the State Department and Foreign Operations Programs

Committee: House Appropriations Committee—State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs
Witnesses: Jacquelyn Williams Bridgers, Managing Director, International Affairs and Trade,
Government Accountability Office
When: Thursday, March 3, 2011, 1:00 p.m.
Where: 2359 Rayburn House Office Building
Contact: 202-225-2771 http://appropriations.house.gov

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Hearing: Navigating a Turbulent Global Economy—Implications for the United States
Committee: Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Witnesses: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
When: Thursday, March 3, 2011, 2:30 p.m.
Where: 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Contact: 202-224-4651 http://foreign.senate.gov

ARTICLES AND REPORTS

Disclaimer: Articles linked in the Update are intended to provide a dashboard view of newsworthy
and topical issues from popular news outlets that will be of interest to readers of the Update. The
articles are an information sharing vehicle rather than an advocacy tool. They are in no way
representative of the views of InterAction or the U.S. NGO community as a whole.

Guardian
Feb. 22: New Ideas Can Transform Aid Delivery
Innovation and experimenting with new ideas can increase humanitarian and development
assistance efficiency and effectiveness. Promoting innovation in proposals and in practices can
be tricky due to donor resistance and the mindset of “don’t fix it if it isn’t broken”; however, the
NGO and aid community will not advance and modernize without the push to innovate and move
forward.

Guardian
Feb. 23: The Global Health Worker Shortage Needs to be Addressed
While countries like the Philippines and South Africa attempt to train a new generation of health
care workers, they are often faced with the harsh reality that there are no local jobs, despite the
dire need for healthcare workers in many countries. This imbalance is further exacerbated by the
opportunity to be trained by a poor government where the need is high, then go to a different
country where pay is higher after training.

New Republic
Feb. 22: Real Conservatives Don't Slash Foreign Aid
Thomas Carothers of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace outlines the somewhat
surprising decision among the ruling British Conservative Party to increase foreign aid outlays by
37 percent over the next four years even, as many other government programs, including defense
(7.5 percent) and diplomacy (24 percent) decrease over the same period. Carothers suggests
three reasons that British Tories are strengthening foreign assistance during a time of drastic
budget cuts, and that the the Republicans in the U.S. should follow Britain’s example.

New York Times

Feb. 24: U.S. Trying to Pick Winners in New Mideast
As the U.S. navigates the growing protests and unrest in the Middle East, there is a balance to be
struck between supporting the people and democracy vs. supporting U.S. government allies in
power. So far, the Obama administration has generally supported protests against autocratic
presidents, but supported the governments of kings and undemocratic leaders. The author
explores factors that the U.S. must examine outside of the government in question.

New York Times

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Feb. 24: Ivory Coast: Forces Clash, Raising Civil War Fears
Unrest in the Ivory Coast has escalated as troops loyal to Laurent Gbagbo are now clashing
violently with those loyal to his opponent. The escalation is attributed to the opposition, who state
they are defending themselves after repeated attacks. So far 13 people have been killed, and
fears of a civil war are growing within the UN and international community.

Washington Post
Feb. 24: Just Give Peace a Chance?
As the U.S. Institute for Peace prepares to move into its new office on the Mall, it has come under
increasingly heavy fire on the Hill. A bipartisan House effort supported a vote to cut off its funding
last week. It is expected the Senate will vote to fund them, leading to a resolution that is
anybody’s guess.