Letter to the Clerk of the Committee from
William S Farish, US Ambassador
Thank you for your letter requesting information
about United States development policy. As you know, at the Monterrey
Summit President Bush outlined a major new vision for development
based on the common interests of developed and developing nations
in peace, security, and prosperity. The President's "Compact
for Development" proposes a historic, shared effort to stop
the cycle of poverty in the developing world. It defines a new
partnership between the United States and those governments in
developing countries that have made and are demonstrating a commitment
to domestic reforms that are necessary for sustained growth.
The Compact creates a separate development assistance
account called the Millennium Challenge Account. The Account is
designed to increase to $5 billion a year starting in FY 06 over
and above the approximately $10 billion in existing U.S. development
assistance (ODA). To gain access to the Millennium Challenge Account,
developing countries will need to show they are implementing sound
policies that promote growth and development, including the need
to fight poverty. We would like very much to hear your views on
the President's stringent results-oriented approach for the Millennium
Challenge Account.
The new initiative is designed to support countries
as they move towards the Millennium Development Goals, and reflects
my government's emphasis on the effectiveness, rather than the
sheer amount, of aid. We believe that an emphasis on a target,
such as 0.7 per cent of GNI, draws attention away from the important
issue of how that money can have the most impact to help the poor.
The issues are much too involved to discuss in a short letter,
so I have attached a brief outline of the Administration's current
thinking on fighting poverty.
In response to your question about the extent
to which charitable contributions supplement ODA, I have also
attached the relevant chapter from a study performed by the Centre
for Civil Society in conjunction with Johns Hopkins University,
which gives some details about United States cross-border philanthropy.
As you know, it can sometimes be difficult to get current and
pertinent figures for international giving, and you will note
that the data is, unfortunately, from 1994. More recently, Leslie
Bains from HSBC stated in her October 2001 speech to the Philanthropy
Forum that total U.S. charitable giving (domestic and international)
totaled USD 203 billion in 2000.
Again, thank you for your interest in the Millennium
Challenge Account and U.S. overseas development assistance. I
hope that in the coming year there will be a lively and sustained
discussion of development topics between your Committee and Embassy
staff.
William S Farish
US Ambassador
12 June 2002
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