[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 68 (Thursday, May 26, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[Congressional Record: May 26, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
AID's PLANS FOR STRENGTHENING WID EFFORTS
______
HON. LEE H. HAMILTON
of indiana
in the house of representatives
Thursday, May 26, 1994
Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, in December 1993, the General Accounting
Office released its report on the Agency for International
Development's and the Department of State's compliance with the 1973
Percy amendment--section 113 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as
amended. The Percy amendment directed that U.S. foreign assistance
efforts focus on integrating women into the economies of developing
countries.
On March 16, 1994 I wrote to Administrator Atwood to request that AID
report to the Committee on how the issues raised in the GAP report were
being addressed.
On April 1 and May 16, 1994, Mr. Atwood provided letters responding
to my inquiry. In Mr. Atwood's response, he expresses his personal
commitment to addressing the issues raised in the GAO report and
outlines specific steps which the agency is taking to insure consistent
compliance with the Percy amendment.
The correspondence follows:
Agency for
International Development,
Washington, DC, April 1, 1994.
Hon. Lee H. Hamilton,
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for your letter of March 16,
1994 requesting that the Agency for International Development
(USAID) report to the Committee on Foreign Affairs on how the
issues raised by the General Accounting Office (GAO) on women
in development are being addressed.
In my response to findings in the report on USAID's and the
Department of State's compliance with the 1973 ``Percy
Amendment,'' (Section 113 of the Foreign Assistance Act as
amended), I outlined some steps that I will take to
strengthen and accelerate the Agency's women-in-development
program. These steps are summarized below.
By June 1, 1994, USAID Bureau Assistant Administrators will
submit to me plans of action delineating steps to be taken by
their Bureaus to address gender issues. The plans for both
geographic and central Bureaus will be based on Bureau
assessments of gender issues.
USAID will require our overseas missions to integrate
gender concerns into country strategies and action plans. I
have directed that the geographic Bureaus take the lead in
establishing plans by July 1, 1994 for negotiating with
Missions deadlines for reaching gender integration
benchmarks.
Further, USAID will enhance coordination between the Office
of Women in Development and USAID Bureaus to better monitor
the integration of gender concerns in Bureau and Mission
development strategies. To assist in this process we will
assure the timely completion of our program performance
monitoring system and will continue to explore ways to
strengthen the capacity of this system to monitor women-in-
development program performance.
I am taking steps to integrate women-in-development policy
objectives into non-project assistance programming by
directing that guidance be appropriately incorporated into
Agency guidance documents, including USAID Handbook 4.
Finally, USAID will continue to explore and implement ways
of providing our program managers with information to monitor
women-in-development program performance.
I greatly appreciate your enclosing a copy of the letter of
March 1, 1994, which you received from Congresswoman
Schroeder and your March 16 response to her. As you state to
Congresswoman Schroeder, we are taking steps at USAID to
ensure that integration of women-in-development concerns in
development assistance is a top priority. I believe our
response to GAO reflects this effort.
Sincerely,
J. Brian Atwood,
Administrator.
____
U.S. Agency for International Development,
Washington, DC, May 16, 1994.
Hon. Lee H. Hamilton,
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: In a March 16, 1994 letter you asked me
to report to the Committee on how we are resolving the
significant issues raised in a recent General Accounting
Office report on Women-in-Development (WID).
In an earlier response (copy enclosed), I summarized
several of the steps we are taking to follow up on the
recommendations in the GAO Report, and to otherwise comply
with the provisions of Section 113 of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961, as amended (the ``Percy Amendment''). In this
letter, I want to elaborate on the actions I am taking to
ensure WID issues are fully integrated into the mainstream of
the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID)
programming process.
As you know, the Percy Amendment has been law for two
decades. It concerns me greatly that the GAO Report
characterizes USAID's efforts to implement the amendment as
``slow and inconsistent.'' I intend to take an aggressive
approach to implementing the Percy Amendment, to ensure we
incorporate women in all aspects of USAID's development
efforts.
I want to make clear to the Committee, as I have to my
USAID colleagues, my personal commitment that a focus on
Women-in-Development is critical to our development efforts.
I am working to break down the common perception in USAID
that WID is either a narrow special interest or one more
Congressional directive with which USAID has to comply. WID
programs are both important in their own right and because
without them we will not achieve our development goals.
Even the most clearly worded legislation on issues, such as
women's empowerment and related WID, will not be translated
into sustainable development activities unless we inculcate
this commitment into the culture at USAID. As the last 20
years have demonstrated, this cultural change at USAID will
be difficult, and can not be accomplished without leadership
from the top. My Deputy, Carol Lancaster, and I are
personally committed to providing the leadership necessary on
WID issues throughout the ranks of USAID's political
appointees and career employees.
Our commitment to strengthening USAID's WID program is
demonstrated in the operational guidance that prefaces our
recently issued strategies for sustainable development, of
which the role of women is one of the most important cross-
cutting themes. That document states:
``* * * the development process must focus on (the) social,
political and economic empowerment (of women). We will
integrate the needs and participation of women into
development programs and into the societal changes those
programs are designed to achieve * * *. The success of
women--as workers, food producers, health providers and
teachers of their children, as managers of natural resources
and as participants in a democratic society--is essential to
successful development. . .in their design and
implementation, (USAID) programs must take gender issues into
account and pay particular attention to the needs of women in
poverty * * *''
Our policy is clear and I have instructed my Policy and
Global Bureaus to monitor its implementation.
To make this mandate a reality will require that our WID
office fulfill its potential as a center of expertise and as
an instrument for change. In this regard, I am particularly
pleased that the President has nominated Ms. Sally Shelton to
direct the Bureau in which our Office of Women-in-Development
is located, the Bureau for Global Programs, Field Support and
Research. Ms. Shelton has a strong commitment to WID issues
in general and to strengthening our WID office and programs
specifically. If she is confirmed by the Senate for this
position, I am confident that she will bring leadership and
energy to this program at the bureau level.
We are also conducting an exhaustive search to identify the
best qualified individual to direct the WID Office. I hope to
announce that appointment soon. In addition, as part of our
efforts to rightsize USAID, I am pleased to inform you that
we will significantly expand the staff of the Office of
Women-in-Development, with eight full-time positions. We plan
to hire permanent staff for these positions wherever
possible, as opposed to contractors, to encourage continuity
in our programming.
One of my first directives to the Global Bureau and to the
new Director of the WID office, working with my Policy
Bureau, will be to provide me with recommendations for how
the Agency can more effectively monitor the way in which
bureaus or missions are carrying out WID policies. As the GAO
report underscored, there is a need for us to be able to more
consistently track our programs' impact upon women by, at a
minimum in most cases, obtaining and analyzing gender
disaggregated data. Further, I will ask for a plan for how
the WID office can provide leadership to the agency of WID
issues and address the inconsistent compliance with Women-in-
Development directives at a field level, outlined in the GAO
report.
In addition, I will ask the Assistant Administrator for the
Global Bureau and the new WID Director to develop
recommendations on how a system of incentives and
accountability can be designed to reward initiative in
incorporating WID concerns and to hold program managers
accountable for results. I believe that a system which
rewards results on WID issues will be vital to changing the
culture of USAID.
Given the significant technical expertise on gender issues
which exists outside USAID in the NGO community, it is
important for the Agency to develop a consultative
relationship with NGOs. I will encourage the new WID director
to consult with these groups as they develop their
recommendations and plans. Both U.S. and indigenous NGOs have
expertise and experience which can help strengthen our WID
efforts as we move forward.
Lastly, I will ask our Office of Women-in-Development to
work with our Office of Food for Peace to ascertain if there
are opportunities to strengthen the incorporation of women in
our P.L. 480 programs.
I hope this letter assures you and the Committee that we
are taking the GAO Report's findings seriously, and conveys
my personal commitment to the Women-in-Development program.
Please let me know if I can provide you with further
information on this matter.
Sincerely,
J. Brian Atwood,
Administrator.
____________________