[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.

                          ____________________