Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I thank my dear friend from New York, the distinguished ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, for his great leadership and for always being supportive of all of our work. I also want to thank my dear friend from Texas, Ted Poe. He has been a wonderful partner and initiator of reform and of thoughtful legislation on our committee. It has been my privilege to cosponsor a lot of legislation with Mr. Poe to try to make things better. Today, I rise in support of another such example, the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2015. Madam Speaker, this bill is a project I have worked on with Judge Poe for a number of years now. In the 112th Congress, a previous iteration of the bill passed this body by a unanimous vote. We hope for a similar outcome in this Congress and for quick Senate consideration and passage. The bill directs the President to establish monitoring and evaluation guidelines for the 22 Federal agencies that are charged with implementing some piece of development and economic assistance. The guidelines will require M&E plans as part of the project development process, and agencies will be encouraged to incorporate the findings of evaluations and impact studies into subsequent foreign assistance programs. This feedback loop will include measurable goals, performance metrics, and a clearinghouse for lessons learned on U.S.- led aid projects, something long overdue after 60-plus years of foreign aid.…”