Joaquin Castro: “I thank Ranking Member Engel for yielding me this time and for his support of this legislation. He, Chairman Royce, as…”

“I thank Ranking Member Engel for yielding me this time and for his support of this legislation. He, Chairman Royce, as well as their staff members have been terrific partners in moving this bill forward. I also want to say a big thank you to my fellow Texan, Representative Mike McCaul, for being the lead Republican cosponsor of this legislation, which aims to make our foreign aid efforts more impactful and cost-efficient. Created in 2014 through the streamlining and merging of two offices, USAID'S Global Development Lab is spearheading a new approach that supports the invention, testing, and utilization of more cost-efficient solutions to development challenges. The Lab collaborates with entrepreneurs, corporations, NGOs, universities, and science and research institutions to solve some of the world's most difficult development challenges faster, more cheaply, and more sustainably. Essentially, the Lab democratizes problem solving by crowdsourcing ideas and applications to find the best solutions from around the world. For example, the Lab has used what it calls Grand Challenges for Development to incentivize problem solvers to develop solutions for specific problems. The Saving Lives at Birth Grand Challenge led to the creation of the Pratt Pouch, a small ketchup packet-like pouch filled with medication that women can use in rural areas to prevent birth-related HIV infections.…”