Washington, DC— The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition today released the following statement from Executive Director Liz Schrayer on the preview of the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review:

“As part of the USGLC’s Impact ’08 initiative, a bipartisan working group of foreign policy experts called on the next administration to conduct a Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review.  We believed such a review was a vital step in modernizing our civilian-led tools of global engagement, and we congratulate Secretary Clinton and Administrator Shah for tackling this monumental and necessary task.

“The preview of the QDDR released last week represents a bold step towards implementing a smart power foreign policy by elevating our civilian power and ensuring effective, results-driven programs.  While we have not seen the full report and expect varying views on some of the recommendations, the initial outline includes several significant highlights that are essential for America to meet today’s global challenges:  Increasing the resources and human capacity for State and USAID; reinstituting budget and planning authority for USAID; and putting in place monitoring and evaluation efforts with clear metrics and a guarantee of program transparency. 

“Today’s global threats require the use of a wide range of tools, and the QDDR can help ensure our international affairs programs continue to make a critical impact in advancing our national security and economic interests.” 

The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (www.usglc.org) is a broad-based influential network of 400 businesses and NGOs; national security and foreign policy experts; and business, faith-based, academic and community leaders in all 50 states who support a smart power approach of elevating diplomacy and development alongside defense in order to build a better, safer world.

 ###