Congressional Outreach

The Global Development Policy and Learning (GDPL) team creates practical opportunities for collective voice and learning for InterAction Members involved in global development.

As advocates, we bring the Membership’s united voice to bear with focus on the community’s core priorities: effective assistance resources and strong U.S. leadership and policy in support of sound human development outcomes.

• To usher in the 116th Congress, InterAction executed its Congressional education strategy to ensure both new members of Congress and long-standing champions were well informed on development and humanitarian issues. In total, InterAction held nearly 300 meetings were held—including 30 with freshmen,—and distributed a new version of Aid Delivers.
• In February 2019, InterAction launched its annual Choose to Invest recommendation report. Choose to Invest provides Congress, the administration, and other interested stakeholders with funding recommendations and justifications for 45 poverty-focused accounts and programs covering development, democracy building, health, and humanitarian action in the international affairs budget.
• More than 90 InterAction Member organizations participated in stopping the Trump administration’s attempt to rescind up to $4 billion of U.S. foreign assistance funds.
• In December, Congress increased development funds across most sectors, including programming for basic education, democracy, gender, food security, and an increased contribution to the Global Fund. Importantly, given repeated efforts by the administration to freeze and rescind funds, Congress included oversight measures to ensure funding reaches its intended recipients in a timely and efficient manner. The law requires that the Office of Management and Budget directly provide funds to USAID and other implementing agencies expeditiously. It allows the obligation of funds before the submission of a spend plan and clarifies that certain specified funds shall be available prior to the submission of the 653(a) report.