Administration:
Ambassador Mark Green was confirmed as USAID’s Administrator on August 3rd by the Senate. Green was supported by prominent Republicans and Democrats in both chambers, as well as the development community. Wade Warren, former acting Administrator for USAID, released a statement praising Mark’s confirmation. You can find the statement here.
Ambassador Green brings years of experience to the position. Prior to his confirmation, he was the President of the International Republican Institute, a Member of the House of Representatives from Wisconsin, served as US Ambassador for Tanzania and a Member of the Board of Directors for WorldTeach.
Legislation:
On August 1st, The US Senate passed the Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development (READ) Act. The bill was amended prior to passage (you can find the bill here and the amendments here). Due to the new amendment, the bill will now go back to the House for final passage.
Congress:
Congress is in the middle of a month long recess, with Members and Senators returning to their home states. Congress will return on September 5th, where they are expected to have an extremely busy month trying to pass FY18 appropriations, raise the debt ceiling and work on tax reform. BEC expects the Senate Appropriations Committee to take up their version of State, Foreign Operations Appropriations in early September. BEC is advocating with our allies a strong basic education number in the Senate bill. The House Appropriations Committee passed their version of State Foreign Operations Appropriations in July, where basic education was allocated $800 million for FY18