FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Nasserie Carew, 202-552-6561 (Office), 202-341-3814 (Cell), ncarew@interaction.org

Tawana Jacobs, 202-552-6534 (Office), 301-326-8687 (Cell), tjacobs@interaction.org

Group Launches Initiative to Modernize U.S. Foreign Assistance

Washington, DC (June 5, 2008)—A network of global development experts from think tanks,
humanitarian and development organizations, and advocacy groups, will launch a new initiative
to bring U.S. foreign assistance into the 21st century.
“America’s foreign assistance system is badly outdated, poorly organized, and generally
ill-equipped to meet today’s global challenge,” says the network’s new report, “New Day, New
Way: U.S. Foreign Assistance for the 21st Century.”
The launch of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) will be held on
Tuesday, June 10 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building.

WHO: Speakers include:

Rep. Howard L. Berman, chair, House Foreign Affairs Committee

Rep. Nita Lowey, chair, State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee
Sen. Chuck Hagel, member, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Steve Radelet, Center for Global Development and co-chair, MFAN
Gayle Smith, Center for American Progress and co-chair, MFAN

and MFAN members:

David Beckmann, Bread for the World
Ray Offenheiser, Oxfam America
George Ingram, Academy for Educational Development
Lael Brainard, Brookings Institution

WHAT: Bringing U.S. Foreign Assistance to the 21st Century

WHEN: Tuesday, June 10, 2008, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

WHERE: Room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building

Members of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network include: Steve Radelet (Center for
Global Development), Gayle Smith (Center for American Progress), Brian Atwood (Hubert H.
Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota), David Beckmann (Bread for the
World), Lael Brainard (Brookings Institution), Larry Diamond (Hoover Institution, Stanford
University), Sam Worthington (InterAction), Francis Fukuyama (The Paul H. Nitze School
of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University), Carol Lancaster (Mortara Center
for International Studies, Georgetown University), George Ingram (Academy for Educational
Development), Larry Nowels, Charles MacCormack (Save the Children), Michael McFaul
(Center on Democracy, Development and Rule of Law, Stanford University), Ray Offenheiser
(Oxfam America), Stewart Patrick (Council on Foreign Relations), and William Reese
(International Youth Foundation).