New USAID Administrator Takes Office
By Jordan Smith at 7 January, 2010, 5:10 pm
Dr. Rajiv Shah was sworn into office by Secretary Clinton in a ceremony at the Ronald Reagan Building. Shah received bipartisan support throughout his confirmation hearing and is now poised to lead USAID. During our Tribute Dinner last month, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton introduced Dr. Shah by saying, “Together, we will ensure that USAID is once again, the premier development agency in the world.”
During his confirmation hearing, Shah assured the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he will report directly to Secretary Hilary Clinton and work “closely with the White House, State Department, heads of other agencies and Congress on all aspects of foreign assistance reform.” Shah has already begun to participate in many important projects that he will take on further in his role as Administrator, including being a co-chair of the State Department’s Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR), which is currently underway. His late appointment has also left the agency with an abundance of crucial positions open, which need to be filled appropriately in order to move forward.
Prior to Shah’s nomination, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) and Ranking Member Richard Lugar (R-IN) had both expressed their concerns to the President about the lack of an Administrator for USAID. However, during the hearing, Kerry assured Shah that he would be leading USAID at, “a moment when people across government recognize that empowering our development agencies and giving them the resources they need is absolutely essential to achieving our larger foreign policy goals.” Kerry and Lugar are co-authors of the “Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act,” S. 1524, which calls for a stronger, more robust USAID.
Moving forward, Dr. Shah will be focusing on the many issues surrounding USAID. He is tasked with securing more dollars for the under-resourced agency, build a human resource capacity to meet the demands it is facing, and ensure the agency has a strong voice in the conversation about foreign assistance reform.
No comments yet.