Foreign Policy...
In 2007, I was a member the Smart Power Commission, a taskforce organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies to look at how the United States can solve the most complicated diplomatic and national security challenges of our day. We concluded that “Smart Power,” a mix of diplomatic, intelligence, military, and economic tools should be used to solve foreign policy problems.
Before we can identify the right tools to use, our government needs to re-examine the way it does business with the world. To help evaluate our diplomatic efforts I introduced H.R. 490, a bill to establish a Quadrennial Foreign Affairs Review at the State Department. Language from this bill was adopted in last year’s State Department Authorization Act and passed by the House. Taking the cue from Congress, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton initiated her own “Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review.” The results are due in the summer of 2010.
One of the longest-standing challenges to U.S. foreign policy is the effective use of foreign aid or development assistance. I believe that our foreign assistance programs should be updated and improved so that they are more effective at helping people and at promoting our national interests.
Too often, the money that we send is absorbed into a corrupt system or fails to help those it was intended to assist. In addition, we must coordinate our government efforts with those of other countries and with the many charities involved in this work.
I am impressed by the success of many microfinance programs which supply loans, savings, and other basic financial services to low-income individuals. We should learn from that success and modernize our foreign assistance to be more effective at supporting entrepreneurs and small business.
- To read the Smart Power Commission Report, click here
- To read my article in Roll Call on the Smart Power Report, click here
- To read the text of H.R. 490, the “Quadrennial Foreign Affairs Review Act,” click here
- To read a piece I wrote about overhauling our national security structure, click here
- To read my article about getting the State Department involved, click here
- To visit the State Department online, click here
- To visit the House Foreign Affairs Committee online, click here
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Foreign Policy
