ICYMI: Rep. Sara Jacobs Leads on U.S. Foreign Assistance Reform
In case you missed it, last week, Rep. Sara Jacobs (CA-51) passed her bipartisan Locally Led Development and Humanitarian Response Act through the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Devex’s Adva Saldinger wrote: “In a sign that there is still room for bipartisan consensus on foreign aid-related legislation, the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee last week passed the Locally Led Development and Humanitarian Response Act.
“The bill aims to increase the amount of foreign aid dollars going to local organizations and reduce the barriers that have historically made it hard for these organizations to access U.S. funding. Among the changes it proposes are exploring new types of funding; investing in translation services; advertising opportunities locally; allowing multiyear, flexible, tiered, and milestone-based funding; and increasing indirect cost rates.
“Both Republican and Democratic administrations have made efforts to boost foreign assistance to local groups because it is more effective and has lasting results, said Rep. Sara Jacobs, a California Democrat who cosponsored the bill with California Republican Rep. Young Kim.
“This bill has been in the works for some time, Jacobs told Devex. During the Biden administration, Jacobs worked with former USAID Administrator Samantha Power to discern what policies and regulations were stopping the agency from working more with local partners and how Congress could address the problems.
“‘What this bill does is try and lower the barrier to entry so [the U.S. government can] have the ability, have the flexibility they need to work with local organizations,’ she said. ‘We know that excessive red tape and regulations make the process to apply for federal funding so burdensome that really only large implementing organizations have the resources to apply.’
“Previous administration-led efforts came up short because they lacked congressional buy-in, action, and oversight, Jacobs said. But she acknowledged that implementing the legislation could be challenging, and the State Department — which absorbed the remnants of the U.S. Agency for International Development — will need to build up staff after the Trump administration gutted the U.S. government’s capacity to deliver foreign assistance.
“‘We shouldn’t use the fact that it doesn’t have the capacity right now’ as an excuse because the State Department still needs to get money out the door, and not being able to do so could revive the cycle of relying primarily on large U.S. or international organizations, Jacobs said. ‘We have to use this moment to change how we do foreign assistance, and that’s part of what this bill does,’ she said.
“This year, the House Foreign Affairs Committee will focus on updating the Foreign Service Act, which Jacobs said she hopes will address some of the personnel challenges at the State Department. The act governs the U.S. Foreign Service, establishing merit-based employment systems, salary structures, and regulations for diplomatic staff.
“‘The absorption of foreign assistance entirely into the State Department, while I can see the theoretical reasons why it could make sense, the actual implementation has been very bad; we are very concerned about their ability to implement any of these things,’ she said, adding that members of Congress continue to push State Department leadership to beef up the department.
“Because of the lack of bandwidth at State, the department is directing more U.S. foreign assistance towards the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and other United Nations organizations to help disperse funds — the opposite of localization, Jacobs argued.
“Jacobs said she is working with partners in the Senate to get a companion bill reintroduced in that chamber, with the hopes of passing the bill later this year, likely by attaching it to a must-pass piece of legislation such as the National Defense Authorization Act.
“‘What we’re hoping is to get the statutory language in this year so that next year, when [Democrats] are hopefully in the majority, we have the regulations in place, and then we can do the oversight to make sure the Trump administration is actually implementing it,’ Jacobs said.
“The localization bill is just one piece of the foreign assistance puzzle for Jacobs. She said that the goal should be to make sure countries can provide for themselves and end past cycles of dependency, which is what African countries are insisting they also want after the fall of USAID.
“While bilateral health compacts or government-to-government assistance could be part of the toolkit, there should be different approaches for different aims, and it’s important to also empower local civil society, Jacobs said.
“‘My concern with the Trump administration’s approach to the global health MOUs is that they’re not transparent. Civil society has been basically entirely excluded. The timelines are unrealistic. They aren’t based on the country’s priorities and what they actually want to invest in, and the State Department currently doesn’t have the oversight and staffing bandwidth required to make sure these funds are not later subjected to waste, fraud, or abuse,’ she said.
“On a broader level, Jacobs said Congress needs to rethink its role in determining the future of foreign assistance, including earmarks, which steer funding to specific projects that are often not based on country priorities. Instead, Congress should set clear mandates and timelines for each country that are realistic and that first strengthen systems such as health or governance.
“‘We need to be thinking about what our foreign assistance will look like in 10, 15, 20 years. How do we make it sustainable across administrations? How does Congress help shape that framework and set the boundaries and make sure that it’s aligned with a country's priorities and our overall national security?’ she said. ‘We will have to rebuild the foreign assistance architecture so we might as well rebuild it in a way that’s actually going to be more effective.’”
Background: Rep. Sara Jacobs is a leading voice in Congress for modernizing U.S. foreign assistance – pushing to localize aid, consistently follow our values, and increase investments in diplomacy and development initiatives rather than a military-first approach. Last year, she introduced the Protect U.S. National Security Act, which would prohibit the use of funds to eliminate USAID as an independent agency. She also led amendments in last year’s State Authorization process to strengthen global health systems, improve training on managing humanitarian assistance and international development, and oversight of acquisition and assistance personnel at the State Department.
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