Yesterday U.S. Congressman Howard Berman (D-CA), Chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced the Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009 (HR 2139), a bipartisan bill designed to increase accountability and improve the effectiveness of U.S. foreign aid. The Bill lays the ground work for a major increase in the transparency of U.S. aid.

Publish What You Fund congratulates Chairman Berman and the other co-sponsors of this important piece of legislation.

(NEW YORK) – Publish What You Fund is highlighted in a post on NYU’s Aid Watch website, as Bill Easterly praises (and lends his own support to) Bono’s backing for the Publish What You Fund campaign.

Read the full post here

Berman referred to the bill as “a down payment on foreign aid reform” that would serve as a “forcing mechanism” to get the administration thinking about long-term policy and not just immediate crises. “ There are three parts to the bill: an overarching strategy, monitoring and evaluation and, as we are very pleased to note, aid transparency.

The bill will be followed later in the year by an “enormous rewrite” of the Foreign Assistance Act, which has been altered numerous times since it was first introduced in 1961.

When testifying before the U.S. Foreign Affairs Committee, chaired by Senator Howard Berman, last Wednesday, Clinton commented in relation to U.S. aid to Africa that she "didn’t know where a lot of it ends up." Also, she said, "we waste way too much money on contractors." She stated that half of the money spent on foreign aid "doesn’t even end up …

Interns Role:

• Managing the website
• Building / maintaining contacts database
• Drafting media materials, particularly website content
• Researching and drafting briefing notes
• Researching and producing regular updates for e-groups on aid transparency
• Organising meetings and trips
• Supporting the Director’s work as required

This blog by James Deane mentions Publish What You Fund as one of several growing accountability initiatives targeted at donors and other development actors. It discusses the challenges to such initiatives, such as lack of demand for information and the incomprehensible formats information is presented in.