While 2016 was a big year for United States development legislation, last year was markedly quieter, dominated instead by budget debates and efforts to ensure aid funding.  This year, bills that could help shape U.S. policy on everything from multilateral aid, to development finance, food security, and internet access will be decided.  With the U.S. government operating under a continuing resolution because no budget bill passed for the 2018 fiscal year, there will be debates not only on how foreign aid will be funded this year but how it will be funded next year as well.

Some policies to look out for:

  • Development Finance Corporation-Members of the House and Senate are working to iron out the details of a bill that would create a new development finance corporation, with the current U.S. development finance institution, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, at its core.
  • Multilateral Aid Review Act would create a process and set of criteria for evaluating U.S. multilateral investments.
  • Global Food Security Act of 2016 passed, but was only a one-year authorization, so one of the issues Congress will work on is a reauthorization of the Global Food Security Act.
  • The Farm Bill is focused on domestic interests, it is also the legislation that dictates U.S. food aid policy. It is up for renewal this year, and as usual, some of the contentious issues around how food aid is delivered are likely to resurface.
  • PEPFAR reauthorization is the current authorization for the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief, which expires at the end of September, and Congress will consider a reauthorization of the program.
  • Digital GAP Act stands for Digital Global Access Policy Act of 2017 which is a bill that’s aimed at guiding U.S. policy on helping developing countries improve internet access.
  • AGOA and MCA Modernization Act called The African Growth and Opportunity Act and Millennium Challenge Act Modernization Act was introduced last year and urges the State Department to provide training, facilitation, and capacity building to improve trade and help African countries access AGOA benefits.

Read the full article about US Aid Policy in 2018 by Adva Saldinger at Devex.