Washington, D.C. – Bread for the World welcomed the nomination today of former Ambassador Mark Green as the new administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Bread supports President Trump’s choice to fill this important position and urges the Senate to quickly confirm Green’s appointment.
“I urge the Senate to move quickly and approve Ambassador Green’s appointment,” said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World. “This appointment comes at a critical time, as famine threatens the lives of an estimated 20 million people in Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen. Permanent leadership at USAID is vital if we are to adequately respond to this and other challenges.”
Green currently serves as the president of the International Republican Institute and has extensive global development experience. He was the ambassador to Tanzania under President George W. Bush and served four terms as a U.S. congressman from Wisconsin.
As a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Green helped craft legislation that created the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which have increased the effectiveness and impact of U.S. foreign assistance. In 2003, Bread for the World grassroots advocates lobbied for the creation of MCC and have supported robust funding for PEPFAR and the MCC as part of the government’s poverty-focused development assistance.
“The world is making unprecedented progress against hunger and poverty. Yet violence, conflict, and climate change are contributing to many humanitarian crises around the world,” Beckmann added. “It’s vital to our national security that we act immediately to help those affected by these crises. We must also, with our partners, invest in programs that help families, communities, and countries lift themselves out of poverty. This creates the foundations for long-term peace and stability.”
He added that a strong and independent USAID provides the much-needed expertise on development and humanitarian responses to complement the diplomacy and defense pillars of our national security.
“We look forward to working with Ambassador Green and Congress to continue strengthening U.S. development and humanitarian assistance in ways that will help put the world on the path to end hunger and extreme poverty by 2030,” Beckmann said.
